Dear ST reader,
The question on many lips in recent days has been: “Where is China’s foreign minister Qin Gang?”
The diplomat – and protege of President Xi Jinping – who fronts the major power’s interactions with the outside world has been missing from a slew of high-profile meetings since June 25, purportedly for health reasons. But another possibility is that he had, somehow, fallen out of favour. China bureau chief Tan Dawn Wei notes that if Mr Qin has violated party rules, an inquiry this long points to the possibility of something serious.
Another political figure who is out of luck – for now – is Thailand’s Pita Limjaroenrat.
The 42-year-old’s party, Move Forward, won the May general election, but his hopes of becoming prime minister seem all but dashed. Indochina bureau chief Tan Hui Yee and Thailand correspondent Tan Tam Mei have been tracking the saga, and here is the latest on how the venerable monarchy continues to wield its influence in shaping the political landscape, including in Mr Pita’s fortunes.
And if you are travelling to and within the major cities in Asia, take heed: traffic jams are back – with a vengeance. But as this package by our correspondents in India, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea shows, ingenuity knows no bounds: people are coming up with all sorts of ways to navigate the problem.
The disappearing act of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang
Thai monarchy becomes focus of premiership debate
How traffic jams are driving behaviour in Asia’s cities
Why entry of Finland and Sweden into Nato will affect Asia
Dropped jaws, whispers and a delayed statement: Reading the clues about Asean’s approach to Myanmar
Taiwan’s presidential candidates’ cross-strait policies are one muddled middle ground
