Shafaq News/ Speculation has been mounting about the fate of China's Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, who has not been publicly seen for nearly a month; the lack of information has sparked various rumors and questions about his sudden absence.
Gang's last public appearance was on June 25, when he met with Russian, Sri Lankan, and Vietnamese officials during their visit to China, as The British Telegraph newspaper reported.
Since then, he has been notably absent from a series of high-level diplomatic meetings both domestically and internationally, including a discussion of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta and the upcoming BRICS summit in Johannesburg involving Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Notably, Gang was absent from a meeting in Beijing attended by high-ranking foreign delegates, including Henry Kissinger, and during a rare visit by Ukraine's deputy economy minister, marking the first visit by a Ukrainian official to Beijing in four years.
The Chinese government attributed his absence to "unspecified health reasons" ahead of the ASEAN summit, with Wang Yi, China's chief diplomat, taking on his responsibilities during the meeting. However, when asked about the minister's absence, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry offered no further information during a regular press conference in China.
Various speculations have arisen regarding the reasons behind the absence, but there is no concrete indication of his involvement in political issues, as reported by the British newspaper.
One widespread rumor is that the Chinese minister may have been having an affair with Fu Xiaotian, a Chinese TV presenter, who also disappeared from public view recently. Such an affair could be considered a violation of Ministry of State Security regulations in China.
Gang was known to be a close confidant of President Xi Jinping and is considered a staunch loyalist. Before his current position as Foreign Minister, he served as the spokesperson for the State Department. He played a significant role in overseeing US-China relations, including a lengthy meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in June of the previous year.
His sudden absence has left many questioning the circumstances surrounding his departure from public life.