Chinese Defence Minister Gen. Li Shangfu's absence at top military meeting heightens speculation about his removal
Gen. Li Shangfu may have been removed and detained became rife after he was conspicuously absent at the meeting of the Central Military Commission (CMC) here on Friday.
Regarded as a close confidante of President Xi Jinping, Gen. Li has not been seen in public since early this month, and also had not attended the meeting with senior Vietnamese defence officials on September 7 and 8.
Li is the second high-ranking Minister and ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) official to go missing since July this year.
Gen Li was conspicuously missing from the meeting held on Friday of the CMC, the overall high command of the Chinese military headed by President Xi, according to the footage aired on the state broadcaster CCTV, extending an unexplained public absence now in its third week, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Saturday.
Besides his Presidency, 70-year-old Xi, regarded as the most powerful leader after Mao Zedong, heads the CPC and the CMC too.
The Friday meeting discussed the political education of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
Three of the seven-member Central Military Commission (CMC) He Weidong, the commission's vice-chairman; Admiral Miao Hua, who supervises political affairs, and rocket force General Zhang Shengmin, who is in charge of disciplinary issues, attended the meeting, the Post said.
Also, not in attendance were General Liu Zhenli, the chief of staff of the joint staff department, and General Zhang Youxia, Xi's trusted ally and the first-ranked CMC vice chair.
He, who chaired the meeting, asked the PLA commanders to strengthen their political conviction and step up combat readiness, the Post reported, quoting the official media.
There has been no official explanation for Gen.
