The vice president was quoted by a Communist newspaper, but this has failed to stop speculation about whereabouts. It is almost certain that he was hospitalized, and the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Hong Kong speak about first stage cancer.

Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Xi Jinping's return to the Chinese political scene has not had the desired effect. He was quoted in an article also published on the official website of the Communist Party, but the population and experts continue to wonder about the Vice President's whereabouts given that he is set to take over the reins of the country and the Party during the next Communist Congress, scheduled for October . Some sources claim that he has liver cancer, making him unfit to govern for the next 10 years.

After almost two weeks of absence, during which he canceled several high level international meetings, Xi reappeared two days ago on the pages of Guangxi Daily.  The official newspaper quoted him along with other national leaders in an article commemorating the recent death of one of Mao Zedong's generals. The text says that Xi, and others have expressed their condolences to the family "in various ways."

However, the fact that he has not recently appeared on television and that there is  no news regarding his activity continues to provoke the international media and the millions of Chinese bloggers, who write about him using the term "crown prince", given that the powerful communist censorship has blocked all searches in his name. Hong Lei, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry has refused to respond to foreign journalists.

Lifan Zhang, an analyst in Beijing, said the communist regime "still protects the state of health of their leader as if it were a state secret. But the disappearance of the next president is now of such proportions that it has caught the world's attention. It is a factor that could destabilize the forthcoming revision within the Communist Party. "

What now seems clear is that Xi was hospitalized. His sudden disappearance and the fact that a military hospital in Beijing is guarded by the armed forces gives substance to this hypothesis. According to various rumors he has a "non -serious" back complaint, but the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, based in Hong Kong said, on September 2, he was diagnosed with liver cancer at the first stage.

Since Jiang Zemin, every five years (two terms) the party has elected the president, the prime minister and members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the "nine mandarins" who actually hold the reins of power. During the General Congress all the places of power are assigned, and for this reason the various factions that animate the Party are fighting with each other to ensure the largest available slice of power. The Chinese call these rotations "generations", and the one that will start in October is the fifth.

 

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