[News Terms] Defense Minister Also Dismissed... China's Version of 'And Then There Were None'

"The current Chinese cabinet resembles Agatha Christie's novel 'And Then There Were None.'

Former Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu
[Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

Ambassador Ram Emanuel to Japan likened the situation where key figures such as Qin Gang, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Li Yuchao, Commander of the Rocket Force, and Li Xiangfu, Minister of National Defense, were successively dismissed following President Xi Jinping's third term inauguration to 'And Then There Were None,' which, along with Ellery Queen's 'The Tragedy of Y' and William Irish's 'The Phantom Lady,' is counted among the world's top three detective novels.

With over 100 million copies sold worldwide, the book's main plot involves a total of ten people?eight individuals with dark pasts and a married couple of servants?arriving on a remote Indian island and being killed one by one. A key clue in the story is when a phonograph record reveals each person's secret in the first half of the novel, followed by the question, "Do the defendants on trial have anything to say?" Subsequently, events unfold in order to the nursery rhyme "Ten Little Indians," which goes, "Ten little soldiers went out to dine. One choked his little self, and then there were nine..." until all ten are dead.

The culprit is revealed in the epilogue to be former judge Lawrence Wargrave, one of the people invited to the island. The chilling twist is his explanation of why he gathered the nine others excluding himself: believing himself to be an executor of justice, he assembled those he judged?whether innocent or suspicious?on the island, killed them, and intended to erase all traces by committing suicide himself.

The recently dismissed Minister Li was the head of the Ministry of National Defense, leading 2 million People's Liberation Army troops, but since August 29, he did not appear at major events such as the National Day reception (September 28) and the Martyrs' Memorial wreath-laying ceremony (September 30). This sparked various suspicions, but Chinese authorities consistently responded with "no information available" regarding Minister Li's status, eventually leading to his dismissal. This process mirrors that of the previously dismissed former Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who disappeared after late June and was dismissed on July 25. At that time, various rumors such as espionage, disappearance, and infidelity circulated inside and outside diplomatic circles, but Chinese authorities only stated "no information." Although key figures in foreign and security affairs have been missing for extended periods before dismissal, the official reasons for their removal remain a mystery.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.