China’s ministry of foreign affairs faced a barrage of questions on Wednesday, over the disappearance and dismissal of foreign minister Qin Gang but refused to answer any of them.
The daily press conference held in Beijing saw more than 20 questions from the press about Qin, a former protege of president Xi Jinping, but none were printed in the subsequent official record.
Qin has not been since in over a month. His mysterious disappearance had fuelled speculation about his fate, which was not dampened by the sudden announcement on Tuesday that he had been removed from his role as foreign minister and that his predecessor, Wang Yi, had been named as his replacement.
Shortly after the announcement, some references to Qin as foreign minister – including biographies, transcripts and press releases – were scrubbed from some government websites. Adding to the confusion, it appeared that he was to remain on the state council.
The news was reported in a short statement by the official state media outlet, Xinhua. No reasons were given.
At the press conference on Wednesday, spokesperson Mao Ning was repeatedly asked why Qin had been removed, where he now was, whether he remained on the state council, if his sacking was the reason several visits by foreign dignitaries had been cancelled or postponed, whether Wang’s appointment was temporary and if Qin was subject to a corruption investigation or in ill health.
In reply Mao referred journalists to the Xinhua report or said she had no information, according to translations online and Hong Kong media reports. Further attempts by reporters to reformulate questions received the same reply from Mao, who at one moment appeared to laugh, that she had already answered them.
“Yesterday, a number of China experts said that the Qin Gang situation, his absence recently, the limited explanation … suggests the leadership is opaque as ever,” asked a reporter from Reuters. “What’s China’s comment?”
Mao Ning replied: “I don’t understand the situation you mentioned, the relevant information has been introduced. Next question.”
(2023.07.26) Senior diplomat Qin Gang was last night officially removed from he role as the country’s Foreign Minister after being missing from public view for more than a month.
The Foreign Ministry today declined to provide a reason. pic.twitter.com/1Thab3xsX7
— Kevin Coy (@TheiKevin) July 26, 2023
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(2023.07.26) Senior diplomat Qin Gang was last night officially removed from he role as the country’s Foreign Minister after being missing from public view for more than a month.
The Foreign Ministry today declined to provide a reason. pic.twitter.com/1Thab3xsX7
— Kevin Coy (@TheiKevin) July 26, 2023
The daily press conferences from Mofa are renowned for giving little concrete information, particularly to politically sensitive questions from the foreign press. Answers are usually formulaic, touching on CCP talking points and criticism of adversaries.
They are not broadcast live, but a record of questions is published later in the evening. Tuesday’s showed just seven questions, all from Chinese state media and none relating to Qin. Mofa has previously dismissed queries about missing questions by saying they have never said it was a complete transcript.
Qin’s disappearance is shaping up to be one of the biggest Chinese political scandals in years. He hasn’t been seen in public since a 25 June meeting with the Sri Lankan and Vietnamese foreign ministers in Beijing.
In early July a foreign ministry spokesperson cited unspecified health reasons for his non attendance at an Asean summit, but since then there have no further explanations. Mao did not answer questions about Qin’s health on Wednesday, and rumours have swirled about possible reasons for a political purging. Discussion in China has been subject to some censorship.
