Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu is believed to be under investigation by Beijing authorities, owing to his disappearance from the public eye for more than two weeks.
Ongoing Investigation
A report by the Financial Times (FT) published on Thursday cited unnamed US officials saying that the intelligence community in Washington believed that Li had been stripped of his duties.
Those briefed on the intelligence did not disclose the evidence that led the Biden Administration to conclude that Li had been placed under investigation. Moreover, the White House and the Chinese embassy have not commented on the matter.
Li was last seen in Beijing on 29 August, delivering a keynote address at a security forum with African nations.
Li was appointed to his post in March. His absence is closely watched, as he is one of China’s five State Councillors, a Cabinet position that ranks higher than a regular minister.
On Thursday, Reuters cited Vietnamese officials saying that Li abruptly cancelled a meeting last week due to a “health condition”.
As Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” 1st: Defense Minister Li Shangfu hasn’t been seen or heard from in 3 weeks. 2nd: He was a no-show for his trip to Vietnam. Now: He’s absent from his scheduled meeting with the Singaporean Chief of Navy…
— ラーム・エマニュエル駐日米国大使 (@USAmbJapan) September 15, 2023
International Discourse
Commenting on the string of disappearances, US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said in a post on micro-blogging website X that China’s government was “now resembling Agatha Christie’s novel And Then There Were None.”
“First, Foreign Minister Qin Gang goes missing, then the Rocket Force commanders go missing, and now Defence Minister Li Shangfu hasn’t been seen in public for two weeks,” he wrote, adding the hashtag #MysteryInBeijingBuilding.
Past Disappearances
However, Li’s public absence has an uncanny resemblance to other high-profile Chinese diplomats who have mysteriously gone missing from the public sphere in recent months, only to be removed from their posts.
In July, China replaced former Foreign Minister Qin Gang with his predecessor Wang Yi after only 207 days in office.
Prior to his removal, Qin, had not been spotted in public for more than a month. In addition, Beijing erased all mentions of him from the government website.
Days after the move, China also mysteriously removed the commander of its missile force, Li Yuchao, a veteran of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force. Li witnessed an abrupt end to his unusually short stint in the key military post after his removal was confirmed a day before celebrating the 96th anniversary of the PLA’s founding.
Analysts believe the move was intended to ensure loyalty to President Xi Jinping in the high-profile military wing, which controls nuclear missiles pointed at the US and would play a pivotal role in any likely attempt to seize Taiwan forcefully.