Missing Xi Jinping reappears, even if not in person
Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Chinese media today returned to mentioning Vice
President Xi Jinping, who had been missing since last September 1st to the point
of cancelling at least four high level international meetings. His
disappearance sparked a widespread speculation in China and in the world, with talk
of a political purge in view of the next Communist Congress, or an accident provoked
by a rival, or a routine hospitalization. All
in the total silence of the media and party officials.
Today
the Guangxi Daily published an
article in which Xi, along with the rest of the Chinese leadership,
commemorates General Huang Rong. The
General, who died last September 6 at an age of 102, was one of the first
companions of Mao Zedong during the campaign for the unification of China and the
expulsion of the Japanese. In
the article - republished on the official website of the Communist Party - says
that Xi, Hu Jintao, the former premier Zhu Rongji and other leaders "have
sent condolences" to the family of the deceased.
Willy
Wo-lap Lam, Professor of History at the Chinese
University of Hong Kong and one of the
greatest experts of contemporary China, comments: " It is a sign by the top leadership to reassure
the world that nothing excessively bad or disruptive has happened to Xi Jinping. Of course this doesn't allay people's
suspicions about whether he will be a physically fit general secretary. "
Among
the hypotheses ventilated after the disappearance of Xi was in fact a political
move. Xi,
59, was designated as the successor to Hu Jintao to lead the country and the
Party: the coronation of the new leader should take place, as usual, during the
next Communist Party Congress scheduled for October. But
Chinese leaders, obsessed by secrecy, have not yet announced the date: in these
days there is a real battle between the various factions, trying to secure a
prominent position in the "Fifth Generation".
Along
with Xi, He Guoqiang, head of the
discipline of the Communist Party also reappeared. He is a member of the Central Committee of
the Politburo and has been absent from the scene since 31 August. Some
Internet users argued that the two had had a car accident (deliberately
provoked) and were hospitalized together. Yesterday,
however, the national television showed He visiting one of the official propaganda
newspapers.
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08/10/2020 16:10
