Headlines around the world have been buzzing about the unexplained disappearance and dramatic firing of former Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang.
Most internet rumors have focused on Mr. Qin’s affair with a prominent TV journalist as the main reason for his downfall.
However, a source close to a high-ranking Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official revealed to The Epoch Times that Mr. Qin was removed, not because of the extramarital affair, but because he violated a major CCP taboo and aroused the suspicion of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Moreover, the anonymous source connected the dots between Mr. Qin’s purge and a recent scandal involving China’s top secret Rocket Force. The sensational revelation involves the sale of military secrets, a possible double agent, and fears of an uprising within the ranks of China’s military elite.
Qin Gang’s Mysterious Disappearance
Mr. Qin’s last public appearance was on June 25, when he met with officials from Sri Lanka, Russia, and Vietnam. After that meeting, he mysteriously disappeared from public view. The Chinese foreign ministry cited “health reasons” when he missed a string of official gatherings.
Throughout his month-long absence, rumors circulated on social media in China and abroad that Mr. Qin had been conducting an affair with prominent TV anchor Fu Xiaotian, who works for Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, and that the two had a love child of American nationality.
Oddly, China—which strictly censors online speech—allowed the online gossip to spread freely, to the delight of the Chinese public.
On July 25, after only seven months on the job, Mr. Qin was removed from his post and replaced by his predecessor, veteran diplomat Wang Yi.
Details of Highly Secretive CCP Missile Force Revealed
Considered the most secretive branch of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), China’s Rocket Force is a strategic and tactical force responsible for the PLA’s land-based nuclear and conventional ballistic missiles.
However, on Oct. 24 of last year, the China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI), a U.S. Air Force think tank, released a 242-page report (pdf) revealing in great detail the organizational structure of the Rocket Force.
The document includes a wide range of information, from the missile force’s high command system to its logistics product bases.
By Shawn Lin
