>> What is the current situation with foreign minister, Chang'e?
>> I have no information to reply in regard to your question.
>> Out of sight for 30 days.
Questions circulating on his whereabouts.
China's foreign minister will Qin gang, placed by his predecessor, longing.
Stand by China's top decision making body.
A surprise shake up at the very top of China's diplomatic leadership.
A dramatic fall from grace for one of China's start diplomats as ambassador to the U.S.
Qin was combative uncontroversial.
>> We are fully justified to do what we must.
>> Polarizing, persuasive, performing under pressure.
A patriotic poster child of China's wolf warrior diplomacy.
For an assertive new area under XI jinping.
China's powerful president promoted his loyal aide to foreign minister, last December.
A meteoric rise making Qin, China's most powerful second
[1:38:43 AM]
China's most powerful second diplomat.
Darting around the world.
Eijing.
Just last month, U.S. Secretary of state Antony blinken.
Qin last known meeting was on January 25th, with the minister.
After, that he went missing for a month.
Absent from high-profile visits by top U.S. Officials, Janet Yellen, John Kerry and most
recently, former U.S. Secretary of state Henry Kissinger.
[Speaking in a non-english language] >> Translator: It is very rare for a senior
Chinese diplomat who have gone missing more than 20 days ago.
In my memory, that has never happened before.
>> China, saying he was unable to attend meetings due to health reasons.
But even that explanations deleted from the Chinese foreign ministry website.
Ministry often leaves a content he deemed sensitive from the transcripts.
The public silence, also not mentioned in Chinese state media.
Fueling intense speculation online, on Chinese social media waybo user said that we can't
[1:39:46 AM]
waybo user said that we can't guess what happened to him and now they're asking, is this -- and
up?
China's diplomacy on a busy schedule, driven by a stream of high-level exchanges between
beijing and Washington.
>> Translator: The fact that the Chinese foreign ministers disappeared at this particular time
has created a lot of attention and discussions.
>> China's authoritarian system, centered around one, met XI jinping.
China's most powerful leader in decades.
A few outsiders know what is on his mind, or what happened to his former minister.
I would bring in our senior international correspondent will Ripley, who of course has
been covering this for us.
And will, gong was a close ally to judging thing.
His wife reportedly curry favor with the president, as we reported by making moon cakes for.
It's, and then he disappears, they scrub everything of any
[7:53:57 PM]
they scrub everything of any evidence of him.
But obviously, he was a huge public figure, the top foreign diplomat.
So now it seems very huge they are acknowledging that something did go wrong, what can you
tell?
Us >> Well, his predecessor, Wang Yi, was in the position of foreign minister for almost
a decade.
And they don't have turned over in Chinese opera chowan's, of their diplomatic ranks.
Judging Penn basically took -- helped guide them -- gave them this pointqin gang the number
two -- , this is the guy who was the U.S. Ambassador, who was at the Washington wizards
game, trying to do a three-point shot, one that had been on CNN the next minute, blasting
the united States, and that Nancy Pelosi, and saying that China might take military
action.
He was the true definition of -- a he was only 57 years old, he should've
been at his post for quite a long time, expressions G jinping, with his third presidential term,
he put people in place, that he could trust, and he handpicked to
[7:54:59 PM]
trust, and he handpicked to lead China, and basically -- the whole system is centered
around him.
And so, the fact that somebody was so close to him is now out, in such a dramatic and
abrupt in the secretive manner, it's really, it indicates that something has gone seriously
wrong.
But because of China's opaque political system, Erin, we have no idea what happened.
And also, adding to this, he still hasn't even hired -- still has the title of the state
counselor.
That wasn't taken away from him.
So he hasn't been completely purged, but he certainly has been purged from the ministry
of foreign affairs.
And there could be more to come, there could be an investigation.
We just don't know, Aaron, because it's China.
>> And you know it's so fascinating about this, as you say, every mention of him, every
image of him, is the leader from the foreign ministry web page.
But, they can't just police reminder the rug.
Because everybody knew, the whole point was that he was a top foreign diplomat.
He met with the secretary of state Anthony blinken.
But now, they just wipe that out to.
What's interesting is, a lot of sense of topics out of China, covid, remember the Chinese
tennis star -- . Our CNN coverage was often block.
[7:56:00 PM]
block.
You'd be doing the reporting, they would go to -- they actually just did that a few seconds
ago, 30 seconds ago.
Halfway through the report, will, what do you read into that?
>> Well, the Chinese censors are very heavy-handed on social media.
I mean, sometimes there are certain terms that are so innocuous, they get completely
wiped.
And yet, they have been allowing people to speculate on social media about what happened
to -- even specially about things really to his personal life, relate to his career -- . Those
comments were allowed to stay on Chinese social media, and some of our coverage of this topic
has been airing in China.
But you know, you start talking about -- you talk with the most powerful Chinese leader
since Mao.
And anything sensitive pertaining to him, and you can say they went right to the color
bars and they cut off our signal inside China, which is not surprising, it happens a lot.
But it is interesting how they selectively have been allowing certain things to be out
there on social media, and other things they cut off.
>> Right, and interesting as you say as you did start
[7:57:01 PM]
talking about Xi Jinping, that is when it happened.