07 December 2023 , 11:40
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Chinese President Xi Jinping has been accused of launching a "Stalin-like" purge as multiple officials have gone missing and are feared to be tortured.
China’s security services have made it near impossible to know what is truly going on, with repression and dictatorship rife. But multiple people believe former foreign minister Qin Gang has been "tortured to death" following his unexplained remova. Other high-profile victims who have vanished without a trace include the generals in charge of China’s nuclear weapons program and some of the most senior officials overseeing the Chinese financial sector.
As a result of the shocking number of disappearances of Chinese officials, President Xi Jinping has been accused of overseeing something truly barbaric. Those being taken out are not members of opposing or hostile factions but people from within the inner ring of Xi’s clique. Much like Russian President Vladimir Putin's fears of being betrayed by someone from within his inner circle, 70-year-old Xi appears to be acting on his paranoia.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (Getty Images)After overseeing most of Xi's interactions with foreign dignitaries between 2014 and 2018, Qin was named ambassador to Washington in July 2021 and foreign minister barely 18 months later. But within six months, he vanished. His last known appearance was on June 25 this year after holding meetings with the foreign ministers of Sri Lanka and Vietnam in Beijing. Qin soon disappeared, with two of those people claiming that he died, either from suicide or torture, in late July in the military hospital in Beijing that treats China’s top leaders.
There have been allegations that he had an affair with a TV anchor who has also not been seen in public since she posted a tweet of herself interviewing Qin on 11 April. However, experts have said an affair would not trigger a political purging. There has been no investigation and it is still possible Qin’s disappearance is health-related. James Palmer, the editor of Foreign Policy magazine wrote: "But there are indications that Qin is in a lot more trouble than that."
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The Communist Party's senior foreign policy official has replaced him as foreign minister and for now, he will look after both roles. Stephen McDonell, the BBC's China correspondent wrote of the new appointment: "He will be seen as a safe pair of hands at a time of crisis. Eventually, after this all blows over, he can go back to his main job developing the Party's foreign affairs policies and someone else can be chosen as foreign minister.
"Qin Gang is gone. You need look no further than the removal of all references to him on the foreign ministry's website. While his ultimate fate is unknown in terms of potential detention or punishment, whichever way you consider it, there is no way it can be good."