Beijing

A dinner reception last week to commemorate the establishment of modern China saw several important military personnel missing in attendance, pointing towards an ongoing military crackdown in China, which has left Beijing’s political circles wondering about President Xi Jinping’s objectives, source reported.

The report in the Japanese daily by Katsuji Nakazawa, a Tokyo-based senior staff and editorial writer said that Li Shangfu, 65, the state councillor and minister of national defence, was one of the most noteworthy absences.

Li hadn’t been seen in days. On the evening of September 28, when they watched the broadcast reception at the banquet chamber of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the Chinese audience was made aware of his fall from favour.

The night was meant to celebrate the 74th anniversary of the foundation of the People’s Republic of China. It was also the eve of the start of the National Day holidays and the eve of the Moon Festival, or the Mid-Autumn Festival, when families gather to celebrate under the elegance of the full moon. But the atmosphere hovering over Beijing’s political class was far from elegant, Nakazawa writes.

The Chang’e moon exploration project, named after the Chinese moon goddess, was launched by China under the direction of eminent military leader Li Shangfu. The general’s absence on the eve of the Moon Festival, when he was so closely associated with the moon thanks to one of his most important missions, is indicative of how brutal China’s politics have become. Li was really too senior to serve as the nation’s defence minister, but Xi gave the nod out of respect for Zhang.