BEIJING — A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson mentioned Thursday that he was once “not aware of the situation” within the ministry’s first public feedback at the disappearance of the defense minister from public view about one month in the past.
Senior Col. Wu Qian, the director of the ministry’s information place of work, gave simplest a one-sentence reaction when requested at a per 30 days news convention whether or not Li Shangfu is underneath investigation for corruption and if he’s nonetheless the defense minister.
“I’m not aware of the situation you mentioned,” Wu mentioned based on a query from a overseas news outlet.
Li, who changed into defense minister when a new Cabinet was once named in March, hasn’t been noticed since giving a speech on Aug. 29. He is the second one senior legit to vanish this yr, following former Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who was once got rid of from place of work in July.
The Chinese govt has given no reason why for his removing, or why each he and Li unexpectedly stopped making public appearances. There isn’t any indication, a minimum of thus far, that their disappearances sign a trade in China’s overseas or defense insurance policies.
The disappearance of officers and people with out clarification isn’t unusual in China and is regularly adopted months later via the announcement of legal fees in opposition to the individual. The disappearance of 2 sitting ministers in speedy succession, regardless that, is extraordinary.
The American ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, tweeted previous this month that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Cabinet lineup “is now resembling Agatha Christie’s novel And Then There Were None.”
Wu, the defense ministry spokesperson, performed down considerations expressed via U.S. officers that the 2 nations would not have transparent military-to-military communications channels.
He mentioned that the issue isn’t a loss of verbal exchange, however a want for the U.S. to modify its tactics to get family members between the 2 militaries again not off course.
“The U.S. always wants to tie somebody’s hands and feet, so they can do whatever they want,” he mentioned.
He additionally mentioned that Taiwan is “heading down the path of its own destruction” with the self-governing island’s release of its first locally made submarine on Thursday.
Wu, who opened the news convention with a statement about a international safety convention to be held in Beijing subsequent month, ducked a query about Li from some other overseas media reporter, who requested whether or not the defense minister would attend the convention.
“We will release information about the Beijing Xiangshan Forum in due course,” he mentioned.
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