Unsubstantiated reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping is under house arrest and that China is in the midst of a military coup swirled on social media on Saturday (24/9/2022).
According Newsweek , among the rumors circulating is that Li Qiaoming, a general of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), China's military, has replaced Xi.
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| Kudeta Militer China |
Li was born in 1961 and promoted to general, the PLA's highest rank, in 2019, according to Indian television station OdishaTV.
Li is also a member of the central committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
According to news outlet Nikkei Asia, Li has been considered a contender to serve as a member of China's Central Military Commission, a panel with authority over military decisions.
Nikkei Asia reports that Li wrote articles aligned with Xi, who wants to increase the communist party's control over the army.
"The Soviet Union collapsed because the party did not have its own army," Li's article said, according to the outlet.
The Indian Twitter account appears to be prominently promoting the rumors about Xi.
Rumors that Xi had been ousted were fueled by Indian politician Subramanian Swamy, who tweeted Saturday.
“When Xi was in Samarkand recently, the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party should have removed Xi from being in charge of the Party Army. Then followed by house arrest. That's how the rumors circulated," he added.
Last week, Xi attended a summit of leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Gordon Chang, an expert on China and author of the book, The Coming Collapse of China, tweeted on Saturday:
"The lack of news from #China over the last few hours shows that the coup rumors are not true, but whatever has happened within the #China military over the past three days, it turns out that something unusual is happening, telling us that there is turbulence within the senior leadership # CCP."
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