Former American officials reveal Qin Gang's whereabouts

 Direct translation

Reporter : Li Enzhen / Editor: Zhu Xinrui / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2024/09/09/a103911886.html

The latest news indicates that Qin Gang is still alive, and former U.S. officials revealed his whereabouts

Image : The picture shows the profile photo of Qin Gang, the former foreign minister of the Communist Party of China. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

After the former foreign minister of the Communist Party of China Qin Gang was dismissed, there have been constant rumours about his life and death. The latest news indicates that Qin Gang is still alive and currently holds a low-level position in a state-owned publishing house under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China.

Qin Gang was dismissed from the post of foreign minister of the Communist Party of China in July 2023; he was dismissed from the post of state councilor in October. On 18 July this year, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China ended. Qin Gang was announced to be dismissed from the post of member of the Central Committee, but the official still called him "comrade". This notice also led to speculation that he may have "soft landed".

The Chinese Communist Party has not yet announced the reason for Qin Gang's dismissal, and his whereabouts are unknown. During this period, there were many rumours about his life and death, some saying he committed suicide, and some saying he was imprisoned.

The latest report by the Washington Post on 8 September 2024 stated that Qin Gang is still alive. The report quoted two former US officials who requested anonymity as saying that Qin Gang's status has been greatly weakened compared to the high position when he was close to Xi Jinping.

These former officials said that Qin Gang, 58, is currently nominally assigned to a low-level position at the World Knowledge Publishing House under the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The demotion occurred sometime in the spring.

One of the officials said that the demotion was a "fall from favor", but it also meant that "he got out of trouble." "He won't go to jail, but his career is over." This may not only be a punishment, but also a warning.

The report said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs repeatedly refused to comment on Qin Gang's fate and did not respond to fax questions about Qin's new position.

The report mentioned that the World Knowledge Publishing House is located in an alley in the center of Beijing and is a bookstore open to the public. When the newspaper's reporter visited the bookstore this week, the clerk said they had not heard of Qin Gang working at the publishing house. A receptionist who answered the phone also said she did not know if this was true.

Earlier, The Epoch Times had also received news from China that Qin Gang had quietly moved to the second line of diplomacy and worked at the World Knowledge Publishing House, downgrading from vice-state level to deputy bureau level but The Epoch Times could not confirm the authenticity of the news.

Qin Gang is one of the senior officials personally promoted by the Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping. He was promoted from Chinese ambassador to the United States to foreign minister at the end of December 2022. Less than three months after serving as foreign minister, he was promoted to state councilor and promoted to vice-state level, becoming the youngest "party and state leader" of the Chinese Communist Party at the time.

The above report said that Christopher K. Johnson, a former senior analyst on China issues at the CIA and current head of the consulting firm China Strategy Group, said that Qin Gang's aggressive "wolf warrior" diplomatic style won Xi's favor. But his rapid rise annoyed colleagues who believed he had surpassed others.

David Ignatius, a senior columnist for The Washington Post, wrote in February this year that Qin Gang had established a close personal relationship with Xi during his tenure as Director of the Protocol Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Qin's rapid promotion aroused the jealousy of his colleagues and forged a "deep hatred" with the current Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

According to a report by Bloomberg on 24 January 2024, when asked about Qin Gang's dismissal during an interview with Bloomberg TV, Fu Cong, head of the Chinese Mission to the European Union and ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, said it was not surprising he was dismissed for "doing something wrong." This may indirectly confirm that Qin Gang was dismissed for making a mistake.

On 10 August 2024, Gao Zhikai, the translator of former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, was also asked about Qin Gang's disappearance during an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera host Mehdi Raza Hasan. Gao Zhikai said that Qin Gang was his good friend for more than 20 years and he lost his job because of corruption.

Subsequently, Hasan repeatedly asked where Qin Gang was. Gao Zhikai made an even more shocking statement: "You will never know." "He is somewhere in China, and you will never see him (Qin Gang)." This statement also triggered public speculation about his life and death.