Another Chinese minister, in this case of Defense, has disappeared from the radar. The United States ambassador in Tokyo and the London-based Financial Times have sounded the alarm, almost in unison: Li Shangfu has not been seen for more than two weeks. An absence that, according to these sources, could portend an imminent relief.
The mystery has not been clarified by Beijing, fueling speculation. In the spring, Foreign Minister Qin Gang also disappeared from the scene for an unusually long time for his position. Finally, the return of his predecessor, Wang Yi, at the head of Foreign Affairs, without any official explanation, fueled the rumors circulating about Qin’s extramarital relationship with a television presenter.
In the case of Li Shangfu, due to his position, in which exorbitant amounts of money are moved, the most plausible explanation could be a matter of money. President Xi Jinping, since taking China’s reins a decade ago, promised an anti-corruption crusade that would calm the spirits of the unequally advantaged population during Hu Jintao’s era, years when entrepreneurs were encouraged to join the Chinese Communist Party.
The last public event in which Li, who has been sanctioned by Washington since 2018 for buying arms from Russia, was seen at a China-Africa forum held on August 29, shortly after he traveled to Moscow and Minsk for meetings with senior Russian and Belarusian officials. Armament sales to many African regimes are accompanied by explicit requests for commissions, as they also know in Washington, London or Paris. So the insinuations of corruption may not be out of place.
The US politician awarded with the embassy in Tokyo is none other than Rahm Emanuel, former mayor of Chicago and very close to Barack Obama. According to Emanuel, Li would not have attended a scheduled meeting with Singapore’s Navy chief.
The Financial Times, for its part, says that it is based on undisclosed sources in the United States to presume that Li is under house arrest – pending an investigation into an unknown object -, which would have forced his recent absence in Vietnam. Li still appears on the website of the Ministry of Defense and there are recent mentions of his name on social media.
General Li Shangfu, 65, previously held the highest positions in Beijing’s ballistic and aerospace program, having trained as an engineer in that branch.
Another Chinese minister, in this case of Defense, has disappeared from the radar. The US ambassador in Tokyo and the London-based Financial Times have raised the alarm, almost in unison: Li Shangfu has not been seen in more than two weeks. An absence that, according to these sources, would portend an imminent relief.
The mystery has not been cleared up by Beijing, fueling speculation. In the spring, Foreign Minister Qin Gang also disappeared from the scene for an unusually long time for his position. Finally, the return of his predecessor, Wang Yi, at the head of Foreign Affairs, without any official explanation, fueled the rumors circulating about Qin’s extramarital relationship with a television presenter.
In the case of Li Shangfu, due to his position, in which exorbitant amounts of money are moved, the most plausible explanation could be a matter of money. President Xi Jinping, since taking China’s reins a decade ago, promised an anti-corruption crusade that would calm the spirits of the unequally advantaged population during Hu Jintao’s era, years when entrepreneurs were encouraged to join the Chinese Communist Party.
The last public event in which Li, who has been sanctioned by Washington since 2018 for the purchase of arms from Russia, was seen at a China-Africa forum held on August 29, shortly after he traveled to Moscow and Minsk to meet with senior Russian and Belarusian officials. Armament sales to many African regimes are accompanied by explicit requests for commissions, as they also know in Washington, London or Paris. So the insinuations of corruption may not be misplaced.
The US politician awarded with the embassy in Tokyo is none other than Rahm Emanuel, former mayor of Chicago and very close to Barack Obama. According to Emanuel, Li would not have gone to a scheduled meeting with the head of the Singapore Navy.
The Financial Times, for its part, says it is based on undisclosed sources in the United States to presume that Li would be under house arrest – while an investigation takes place, the object of which is unknown -, which would have forced his recent absence in Vietnam.
Li still appears on the website of the Ministry of Defense and there are recent mentions of his name on social media. Whereas in the case of Qin Gang, the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs deleted most of the mentions of Qin in the month of his disappearance, when his dismissal had already been confirmed at the end of July.
Li’s absence comes nearly a month after two generals from the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force were dismissed without explanation. General Li Shangfu, born in Chengdu 65 years ago, previously held the highest positions in Beijing’s ballistic and aerospace program, having trained as an engineer in this branch.
Another Chinese minister, in this case of Defense, has disappeared from the radar. The US ambassador in Tokyo and the London-based Financial Times have raised the alarm, almost in unison: Li Shangfu has not been seen in more than two weeks. An absence that, according to these sources, would portend an imminent relief.
The mystery has not been cleared up by Beijing, fueling speculation. In the spring, Foreign Minister Qin Gang also disappeared from the scene for an unusually long time for his position. Finally, the return of his predecessor, Wang Yi, at the head of Foreign Affairs, without any official explanation, fueled the rumors circulating about Qin’s extramarital relationship with a television presenter.
In the case of Li Shangfu, due to his position, in which exorbitant amounts of money are moved, the most plausible explanation could be a matter of money. President Xi Jinping, since taking China’s reins a decade ago, promised an anti-corruption crusade that would calm the spirits of the unequally advantaged population during Hu Jintao’s era, years when entrepreneurs were encouraged to join the Chinese Communist Party.
The last public event in which Li, who has been sanctioned by Washington since 2018 for the purchase of arms from Russia, was seen at a China-Africa forum held on August 29, shortly after he traveled to Moscow and Minsk to meet with senior Russian and Belarusian officials. Armament sales to many African regimes are accompanied by explicit requests for commissions, as they also know in Washington, London or Paris. So the insinuations of corruption may not be misplaced.
The US politician awarded with the embassy in Tokyo is none other than Rahm Emanuel, former mayor of Chicago and very close to Barack Obama. According to Emanuel, Li would not have gone to a scheduled meeting with the head of the Singapore Navy.
The Financial Times, for its part, says it is based on undisclosed sources in the United States to presume that Li would be under house arrest – while an investigation takes place, the object of which is unknown -, which would have forced his recent absence in Vietnam.
Li still appears on the website of the Ministry of Defense and there are recent mentions of his name on social media. Whereas in the case of Qin Gang, the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs deleted most of the mentions of Qin in the month of his disappearance, when his dismissal had already been confirmed at the end of July.
Li’s absence comes nearly a month after two generals from the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force were dismissed without explanation. General Li Shangfu, born in Chengdu 65 years ago, previously held the highest positions in Beijing’s ballistic and aerospace program, having trained as an engineer in this branch.
Another Chinese minister, in this case of Defense, has disappeared from the radar. The US ambassador in Tokyo and the London-based Financial Times have raised the alarm, almost in unison: Li Shangfu has not been seen in more than two weeks. An absence that, according to these sources, would portend an imminent relief.
The mystery has not been cleared up by Beijing, fueling speculation. In the spring, Foreign Minister Qin Gang also disappeared from the scene for an unusually long time for his position. Finally, the return of his predecessor, Wang Yi, at the head of Foreign Affairs, without any official explanation, fueled the rumors circulating about Qin’s extramarital relationship with a television presenter.
In the case of Li Shangfu, due to his position, in which exorbitant amounts of money are moved, the most plausible explanation could be a matter of money. President Xi Jinping, since taking China’s reins a decade ago, promised an anti-corruption crusade that would calm the spirits of the unequally advantaged population during Hu Jintao’s era, years when entrepreneurs were encouraged to join the Chinese Communist Party.
The last public event in which Li, who has been sanctioned by Washington since 2018 for the purchase of arms from Russia, was seen at a China-Africa forum held on August 29, shortly after he traveled to Moscow and Minsk to meet with senior Russian and Belarusian officials. Armament sales to many African regimes are accompanied by explicit requests for commissions, as they also know in Washington, London or Paris. So the insinuations of corruption may not be misplaced.
The US politician awarded with the embassy in Tokyo is none other than Rahm Emanuel, former mayor of Chicago and very close to Barack Obama. According to Emanuel, Li would not have gone to a scheduled meeting with the head of the Singapore Navy.
The Financial Times, for its part, says it is based on undisclosed sources in the United States to presume that Li would be under house arrest – while an investigation takes place, the object of which is unknown -, which would have forced his recent absence in Vietnam.
Li still appears on the website of the Ministry of Defense and there are recent mentions of his name on social media. Whereas in the case of Qin Gang, the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs deleted most of the mentions of Qin in the month of his disappearance, when his dismissal had already been confirmed at the end of July.
Li’s absence comes nearly a month after two generals from the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force were dismissed without explanation. General Li Shangfu, born in Chengdu 65 years ago, previously held the highest positions in Beijing’s ballistic and aerospace program, having trained as an engineer in this branch.
