It has been noted that Xi and his party “cadre” Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party’s Politburo, have both disappeared from the pages of the official media for more than 10 days.
Xi was last seen in public on April 3, when he attended a tree-planting event in Beijing with other members of the Politburo Standing Committee and Vice Chairman Wang Qishan. That makes 11 consecutive days he has been “invisible”. The Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao said that although there is the Qingming Festival in the middle, but this public holiday has also ended a week, except for the Beidaihe vacation, such a long period of time without appearing is relatively rare.
During these 11 days, reports about Xi Jinping did appear in the official media from time to time, such as giving instructions on vocational education, or congratulating Nguyen Xuan Phuc on his election as Vietnam’s president, and sending a condolence message on the death of Britain’s Prince Philip, etc. But Ming Pao believes that not all of these instructions and messages were actually handled by Xi Jinping himself.
In addition, during this period, the CPC Politburo Standing Committee of Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu and Wang Yang made several public appearances. But Wang Huning, the executive secretary of the CPC Central Committee’s Secretariat, kept disappearing.
Hong Kong media reports suggest that Vice Premier Liu He, who often accompanies Xi on foreign visits, and He Lifeng, head of the Development and Reform Commission, have all made appearances in Beijing, suggesting that Xi has not left the city, and that Wang Huning’s invisibility along with him may mean that this disappearance is related to the Communist Party’s centennial in July and the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in October.
If there are no surprises, Xi should speak at the party’s centennial event, and the resolution of the 6th Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee should also enter the drafting stage as a rule.
Observers believe that the general tone of the current Sixth Plenary Session will continue to be the establishment of Xi Jinping’s core authority.
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