Free Republic

Last Monday I pointed out that China’s foreign minister Qin Gang had suddenly vanished and hadn’t been seen in three weeks. Officially, he was said to be ill but unofficially there rumors that he’d done something potentially embarrassing to the party. Today, Qin was officially removed from his post and replaced, once again suggesting that whatever led to his disappearance was seen as a career-ending mistake.Mr. Qin was abruptly removed as foreign minister on Tuesday after having disappeared from public view for 30 days. The move ended the career of a diplomat who had leaped to the top as one...

The lengthy absence from public view of China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang has sparked furious online speculation, while once again highlighting China's secrecy. The 57-year-old has not been seen in public for 23 days - his last reported engagements were on 25 June. Appointed to his post last December, Mr Qin was seen as a trusted aide of Chinese President Xi Jinping. As one of the best known faces of the Chinese government, Mr Qin's prolonged absence has not only been scrutinised by diplomats and China watchers, but also ordinary Chinese people. When asked about his whereabouts on Monday, Foreign...

Almost exactly two years ago RedState broke the story of the defection of CCP counterintelligence official Dong Jingwei to the United States. The “terabytes” of data Dong, the highest-ranking Chinese defector ever, brought with him to the United States included information and data showing “that SARS-CoV-2 was manmade and leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, in addition to evidence confirming that the People’s Liberation Army managed the Wuhan bioweapons program (and others).” While it was essentially ignored by the mainstream media and dismissed by the professional former spook crowd, it was a huge story – so huge that RedState...

China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang has told Tesla CEO Elon Musk that his country will improve the business environment for foreign companies. The two met in Beijing on Tuesday. China's Foreign Ministry says Qin stressed that China is committed to promoting a policy of opening-up and creating a better business environment for investors including Tesla. Qin said a healthy, stable and constructive bilateral relationship will be beneficial for China, the United States and the world. Musk reportedly said the interests of both countries are inseparable. He expressed his opposition to a decoupling of the US and China economies, while stating...

Tonight developments in Idaho being watched that's where Libertarian activist Ammon Bundy... Suspensions handed out to five NFL players... In the African nation of Mali an Al-Qaeda affiliated group... The Biden Administration spending 140 million dollars on water-related projects in western states... Ex-Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo surrendering to US authorities for extradition... The US Supreme Court Abortion drug decision late today... A Lebanese-Canadian man convicted in the October 1980 bombing of a synagogue in Paris... Russian President Vladimir Putin talking with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman... "What" The reaction of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to NATO Secretary General...

TOKYO -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's expected meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken next week signals his desire to stabilize relations with Washington as he faces economic headwinds at home. The planned reception, first reported by the Financial Times and confirmed by U.S. sources, will likely set the tone for China's new foreign policy team -- top diplomat Wang Yi and Foreign Minister Qin Gang -- as they put together their diplomacy playbook. "If President Xi meets Secretary Blinken, it will reinforce to the Chinese government that he is personally engaged in steering the relationship and that any...