Qin Gang missing: Extramarital affair with journalist behind China minister's absence?
Qin Gang Missing: Qin Gang’s last public appearance was during a meeting with Russia’s deputy minister of foreign affairs Rudenko Andrey Yurevich.
Rumours about China’s foreign minister Qin Gang, who has been missing, have fueled intense speculations – including an alleged extramarital affair with a journalist as commentators suggested that an affair with a television personality might be behind his absence, The New York Times reported. Although Beijing has said that his disappearance is a health-related matter as Qin Gang was supposed to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Jakarta but top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi filled his shoes instead.
When was Qin Gang last seen in public?
Qin Gang’s last public appearance was during a meeting with Russia’s deputy minister of foreign affairs Rudenko Andrey Yurevich on June 25. Since then, he has been out of public view for about three weeks. A newspaper in Hong Kong also reported last Monday that he had contracted Covid-19.
Read more: Drake, Leonard Cohen and…: Songs-books you shouldn't miss, thank Barack Obama
Who is Fu Xiaotian?
Reports also suggested that Qin Gang has been missing due to an extramarital affair with a well-known television journalist Fu Xiaotian affiliated with Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV. Photos and videos of Qin Gang and the female reporter have recently circulated on Twitter. The ruling Communist Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has reportedly asked the minister about the matter as reports claimed that he had a child out of wedlock with Fu Xiaotian, who is a US citizen.
How is this a worry for Xi Jinping?
Chinese president Xi Jinping promoted Qin Gang to the role of foreign minister over other senior diplomats but the infidelity rumours would be challenging to hush away.
