l**********3
发帖数: 10970 | | B*********n
发帖数: 2552 | | l**********3
发帖数: 10970 | 3 High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this
article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article.
See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft
.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d555bae2-fcc5-11e1-ba37-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz26GLIgrlb
By Kathrin Hille in Beijing and Jamil Anderlini in Tianjin
When Lin Biao, China’s then heir apparent, died in a aeroplane crash, it
took the Communist party two months to inform the public.
Although it happened more than 40 years ago, some observers have been
reminded of the incident this week because vice-president Xi Jinping, who is
expected to be elevated to party’s top post next month, has not been seen
in public for 11 days.
More
Despite China’s economic transformation, secrecy, especially when it comes
to its leaders, is one of the characteristics the party has retained since
1971, when Lin Biao died and Mao Zedong was still in power.
According to Beijing’s official version, Lin had been plotting a coup
against Mao and decided to flee to the Soviet Union with his family after
learning that he had been found out. His flight crashed in Mongolia, killing
everyone on board. While Russian forensic evidence confirmed that he indeed
died in the crash, foreign historians continue to doubt Beijing’s
explanation of a coup.
More recent cases involving senior party leaders have been handled in a
similar fashion. Only in July this year did the People’s Daily, the party’
s mouthpiece, confirm that Li Peng, at the time China’s prime minister, had
been treated in hospital in 1993.
Mr Li disappeared from public view for several months that year, cancelling
trips abroad and meetings with visitors. The foreign ministry had said he
had a cold and was recovering. It is by now widely believed that Mr Li had
suffered a heart attack.
But today, keeping things secret is much more difficult as the spread of
social media has robbed the party of the power to control information.
Mr Xi cancelled meetings with Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state,
Singaporean prime minister Lee Hsien Loong and a Russian delegation last
week. He also appeared to cancel a meeting with Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the
Danish prime minister, on Monday, although she herself later said no meeting
had been planned.
An official account did not list Mr Xi among the participants of a meeting
held last Friday by the central military commission, of which he is vice-
chairman.
There have been no public appearances, news pictures or new mentions of Mr
Xi in the state media since September 1, when he gave a speech at the
central party school.
Although Mr Xi’s absence from the public eye so far has not lasted as long
as those of some past Chinese leaders, politicians who have disappeared
previously still sent signals by publishing articles in official media or
sending congratulatory messages on major occasions.
The mystery surrounding Mr Xi has triggered a flurry of rumours on Sina
Weibo, the country’s leading Twitter-like microblog, especially as it comes
amid preparations for the complex once-in-a-decade leadership transition in
which Mr Xi is supposed to be the star.
Internet users passed round suggestions that Mr Xi and He Guoqiang, another
top leader who is also absent from public view, had both been involved in
car crashes. Another rumour was that they had both been victims of
assassination attempts.
“In my recent meetings with senior government officials and advisers in
Beijing, many of them said they felt that the party is losing control over
the discourse and just isn’t able manage the message like it could before
Weibo came along,” said one well-connected Chinese economist.
Posts referring to Mr Xi and Mr He have been quickly deleted on Chinese
microblogs, while searches for their names have been censored.
And yet internet users quickly found other ways of discussing the issue. One
Weibo user posted a picture showing Yuan Shikai, the early 20th century
Chinese ruler who had himself elevated to emperor but was toppled after 83
days, next to Xi Jinping. The post joked that while one had been on the
throne for just a matter of days, the other might never make it there
because he has gone missing. | l**********3
发帖数: 10970 | 4
有点长
【在 B*********n 的大作中提到】
: 没有ＦＴ的帐号，麻烦你给转贴一下全文把
| T**********e
发帖数: 29576 | 5
ft
is
seen
李鹏93年失踪是心脏病？ 他再出来就被朱镕基把权分走了。
【在 l**********3 的大作中提到】
: High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this
: article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article.
: See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft
: .com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d555bae2-fcc5-11e1-ba37-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz26GLIgrlb
: By Kathrin Hille in Beijing and Jamil Anderlini in Tianjin
: When Lin Biao, China’s then heir apparent, died in a aeroplane crash, it
: took the Communist party two months to inform the public.
: Although it happened more than 40 years ago, some observers have been
: reminded of the incident this week because vice-president Xi Jinping, who is
: expected to be elevated to party’s top post next month, has not been seen
|
|
