Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu, missing for more than two weeks, is believed to have been placed under investigation, according to US officials.
Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu, who has not been seen in public for over two weeks, has been placed under investigation, the US government believes.
According to the US, Shangfu has also been stripped of his responsibilities as defence minister, the Financial Times reported.
Taking to X, Rahm Emanuel, the US envoy to Japan, wrote, “President Xi’s cabinet lineup is now resembling Agatha Christie’s novel ‘And Then There Were None’.”
“First, foreign minister Qin Gang goes missing, then the rocket force commanders go missing and now defence minister Li Shangfu hasn’t been seen in public for two weeks,” he wrote.
“Who’s going to win this unemployment race? China’s youth or Xi’s cabinet?” Emanuel said.
He further quoted Shakespeare in Hamlet and wrote, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” 1st: Defense Minister Li Shangfu hasn’t been seen or heard from in 3 weeks. 2nd: He was a no-show for his trip to Vietnam. Now: He’s absent from his scheduled meeting with the Singaporean Chief of Navy because he was placed on house arrest???…Might be getting crowded in there. Good news is I heard he’s paid off his mortgage with the Country Garden real estate developers.”
Shangfu’s supposed disappearance came after Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang went missing in July.