Political death: why ministers disappear in China before being fired

After having completely disappeared from public life during the last two months, this Tuesday, the 24th, the government of Xi Jinping finally confirmed that Defense Minister General Li Shangfu was removed from office and expelled from the State Council.

TO LOOK: China fires defense minister, absent for almost two months

As is common in Chinawhere public information is limited to data authorized by the central government, no further details about Shangfu’s dismissal are known, other than the fact that it would be part of a restructuring of Chinese leadership.

Along with Shangfu, Science and Technology Minister Wang Zhigang and Finance Minister Liu Kun were replaced. Furthermore, Qin Gang, a former chancellor whose departure from office was quite similar to that of the general, was removed from the State Council.

In July of this year, after disappearing from the public scene for almost a month, Gang’s expulsion from the cabinet was announced, after having served as chancellor since December 2022.

In July this year, after disappearing from the public scene for almost a month, the expulsion of Foreign Minister Qin Gang from the cabinet was announced.

“The disappearance of these two senior officials without any explanation would indicate that they could have committed some serious misconduct. What is being done now is to confirm the speculations that everyone had. But what we don’t know is what mistake they made“, he says The trade the director of the Center for Asian Studies at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Carlos Aquino.

“There is speculation that in the case of the Minister of Defense it could be due to poor management while he was in charge of the sector, but it is just speculation, it is not known if this is the real reason. In the case of the dismissed chancellor there are also several theories, ranging from an extramarital affair to having committed infidelity. But these are all speculations. The only thing that could confirm what happened would be if they were sued, which sometimes happens.” he adds.

In this regard, the only information that emerged was that released by the Reuters agency on September 16, when it cited sources who stated that Shangfu was under investigation for suspected corruption linked to the purchase of military equipment.

By this time, the minister had already disappeared. The last time he was seen in public was on August 29, when he participated in the Third China-Africa Peace and Security Forum held in Beijing. The 65-year-old soldier was supposed to take part in a defense cooperation summit taking place in Vietnam on September 7 and 8, but it was canceled at the last minute.

In Gang’s case, at 57 he became one of the youngest foreign ministers in the history of the Asian giant. He assumed the role after serving two years as ambassador to the United States and serving as a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Since his dismissal, the government has not commented on the matter, despite the insistence of the foreign press.

“This is the Chinese political system. From a Western point of view it is opaque because here we have a free press, politicians speak in the media, there is opposition, there are parties. Sometimes adversaries have information that we, as citizens, do not have access to. But in China, to begin with, there is no opposition. There is also no free press, only a unified voice that is that of the Party (Chinese Communist – CCP). There is no way to know anything other than what the Government wants. The only thing that those of us outside of China can do is wait for the confirmations to arrive.”, explains Aquino.

In China “there is no way to know anything other than what the government wants”, explains Aquino. (AFP Agency/)

But the most serious thing, for both Shangfu and Gang, was not their dismissal as heads of their respective ministries, but their expulsion from the transcendental State Council, since this amounts to a final sentence within Chinese politics.

“The State Council has even more weight than the ministers. In China there are 105 or 110 million members of the Communist Party, among them are elected the 2,200 members of the People’s Congress, the 220 of the Central Committee, the 24 of the Politburo and then there is the Politburo Standing Committee, made up of seven people who decide the future of the country. The State Council is made up of members of the Central Committee, but elected to that position. They define the country’s policy”, details the expert.

The arrival of both men at the State Council would also have occurred on the recommendation of Xi Jinping himself, a factor that only increases interest in knowing the reasons for their sudden departures.

Both Shangfu and Gang attended the State Council recommended by Xi Jinping.

According to Aquino, however, these dismissals would not have a major impact on the policies he applies. China nor in its way of relating to the outside world, because the Asian giant is guided by party lines and not by the dispositions of the ministers on duty.

“China has a state policy. The Minister of Defense or Foreign Affairs is supposed to be the most important in his field in almost every country, but not necessarily there. In China there is a parallel government, that of the party. The head of International Relations of the PCC has more weight than the chancellor himself, for example. Before Qin Gang, the chancellor was Wang Yi, who is also Director of Foreign Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, and now he has become so again, replacing the deposed minister. In the case of Defense, there is also a military manager with more weight than the minister himself. Therefore, policies do not change, only those who implement them“, Explain.

Source: Elcomercio