大家好！
台风来袭在台北！ 外面大下雨！ Well, that’s more of a reason to update you.
My op-eds from the last two weeks:
China foreign minister goes missing, rumors of his affair with journalist spread. Xi in a fix. Link
China’s elite love art, hide it from CCP. It’s their dirty secret. Link
Xi-Kissinger meeting sends a direct message to US: accommodate China, don’t contain. Link
Chinese foreign minister’s mysterious dismissal shows Xi’s China is a black box. No spills. Link
Many of you have been interested in the missing Qin Gang’s fate. I wrote an op-ed about what may have happened to Qin: https://theprint.in/opinion/chinese-foreign-ministers-mysterious-dismissal-shows-xis-china-is-a-black-box-no-spills/1686577/.
Some experts say Qin was 免去 rather than 驳回 which means health reasons were behind the decision. But I think there is far too much evidence, as I write in my column, to suggest the dismissal was politically motivated for unknown reasons. I am not going to repeat the 传言.
Meanwhile, I also wrote about art auctions and money laundering by wealthy Chinese politicians and business folks. I had an interesting conversation with an individual from the world of finance who had worked in Hong Kong and elsewhere. Some of my suspicions about art being used to launder money through proxies continue despite Xi’s crackdown. It’s become difficult, but there are way around it if the buyer and seller agree.
That’s all for this week! If you have something interesting to share, you have my ears!
Best,
Aadil