No word from China on Xi military coup whispers

Media reports from India last night claimed China President Xi Jinping is under house arrest after a military coup.

TFI Global and the Times of India both speculated that the Chinese premier is under house arrest after Beijing Airport cancelled more than 6,000 domestic and international flights, and suspended the nation’s high-speed rail.

The Indian media outlets also went as far as to say Xi never met his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi or Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 14. It was the first time Xi had left mainland China since the outbreak of coronavirus in 2020.

These claims are in contrast to pictures of all three leaders being seen at the SCO and media reports with quotes that the three premiers met to discuss a number of things, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and new oil and gas pipelines from Russia to China via Mongolia.

TFI Global claim the Chinese leader did not actively participate in the summit and didn’t have dinner with Putin as previously reported because of COVID-19 concerns. The platform also reported that Xi had left for Beijing before the end of the SCO Summit.

The platform alleges that the former Chinese President, Hu Jintao, and former Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao had retaken control of the Central Guard Bureau (CGB) and abolished Xi’s military authority. The CGB protects members of the Politburo Standing Committee, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders, and Xi Jinping.

Xi returned to China on September 16 after learning of the coup and was stopped at Beijing Airport and put under house arrest.

There has been no official confirmation from the CCP or any of the state’s media outlets, such as Xinhua, China Daily, or the mainland’s version of Twitter, Weibo, although something of this nature would not get out into the public domain. China is arguably the heaviest surveillanced nation in the world.

It is more than likely that the 69 year old Chinese leader has not been seen in public since his return from the SCO because he is in quarantine.

Beijing Airport’s website reveals that some flights were cancelled, a number were scheduled, delayed, or had touched down.

BBC World Service journalist, Aadil Brar, a former hack in China shared some flight data and said no flights were disrupted. Brar also made public the briefings from senior Chinese officials which suggests the government is working as normal.

Business Today reported that two former CCP ministers were sentenced to death while four other officials were jailed for life in China last week.

The six were allegedly part of a political faction opposing Xi. This gives a strong indication the Chinese President is still in charge.

Time will tell if the rumours are true or not.

SOURCE: TFI Global Business Today