BEIJING: China's Vice President Xi Jinping has made his first public appearance
in two weeks, state media said Saturday, following swirling speculation about
the whereabouts of Beijing's leader-in-waiting.
Xi had not been seen in public
since September 1 and cancelled meetings with four foreign dignitaries
including visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, giving rise to
intense speculation about his health.
The vice president arrived at
China Agricultural University Saturday morning for "activities marking
this year's National Science Popularisation Day", state-run news agency
Xinhua said.
His unexplained disappearance
came at a highly sensitive time for China, which is gearing up for a
generational handover of power.
On Thursday, he made his first
public communication in nearly two weeks when state media said he had
"expressed condolences on the death of old party comrade Huang Rong",
who died on September 6 -- a day after Xi missed a planned meeting with
Clinton.
The report in the Guangxi Daily
newspaper -- mouthpiece of the Communist Party committee in China's southern
Guangxi region -- marked the first public communication by Xi since he delivered
a speech on September 1.
The news was published widely in
China, but made no mention of Xi's health, which has been the subject of
widespread speculation in recent days. Theories about his health have mentioned
anything from back ache to a heart attack.
Xi has been widely tipped to
succeed President Hu Jintao as leader of the ruling Communist Party at a
crucial meeting that is expected to be held sometime next month, before taking
over as head of state in March.
His disappearance from public
view has attracted global attention, as well as some speculation on China's
popular but heavily censored microblogs.
US Ambassador to China Gary Locke
declined to weigh in on Xi during an appearance in Washington earlier this
week, but noted that the heir apparent called off meetings not only with
Clinton but with other foreign dignitaries.
China's tightly controlled
state-run media has ignored the issue, focusing instead on a row over Japan's
purchase of the disputed Diaoyu islands, known in Japan as the Senkaku islands.
News broadcasts on Saturday made
no mention of Xi's public appearance up to the 10am (0200 GMT) bulletin on the
state-run China Central Television.
China's government has so far
given no explanation for his absence. At a daily media briefing on Thursday,
foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei refused for the fourth day running to
answer repeated questions about Xi's whereabouts.
Hong did, however, say that
preparations for the 18th Communist Party Congress -- where Xi is expected to
be named party leader -- were "well under way", adding that
"Chinese authorities will release relevant information in due
course".
Analysts say Xi is likely
suffering from a relatively minor health complaint, as anything more serious
would have prevented Hu from leaving the country to take part in last week's
APEC summit.
- AFP/cc
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