WASHINGTON: When a Reuters reporter asked a US State Department spokesperson this week about a sarcastic social media post by the US ambassador to Japan concerning China's missing defense minister, the reply was appropriately diplomatic. The ambassador, Rahm Emanuel, has always spoken in 'a colorful manner
WASHINGTON: When a Reuters reporter asked a US State Department spokesperson this week about a sarcastic social media post by the US ambassador to Japan concerning China's missing defense minister, the reply was appropriately diplomatic.
"First, Foreign Minister Qin Gang goes missing, then the Rocket Force commanders go missing, and now Defense Minister Li Shangfu hasn't been seen in public for two weeks. Who's going to win this unemployment race? China's youth or Xi's cabinet?" Emanuel wrote. In July, Foreign Minister Qin Gang was replaced after not being seen in public for over a month. He had been appointed to the post only seven months previous.China's defence minister under investigation for corrupt procurement, being removed from post: ReportsThough common on social media, pointed sarcasm is almost unheard of in the buttoned-down world of diplomacy, where ambassadors' comments are carefully vetted and scrutinized for nuance.
A source familiar with Biden administration dynamics said Emanuel's comments were likely not part of an agreed approach.
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