IBNS: In the last few weeks, social media has been abuzz with rumors of Chinese President Xi Jinping being put under house arrest. Several social media posts indicated that Jinping was removed as the chief of China’s People’s Liberation Army, or the PLA while he was away in Samarkand in Uzbekistan to attend the SCO meeting.
This wasn’t confirmed by the Chinese Communist Party or the state media even as many social media users posted about Xi Jinping’s alleged house arrest.
“New rumour to be checked out: Is Xi jingping under house arrest in Beijing ? When Xi was in Samarkand recently, the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party were supposed to have removed Xi from the Party’s in-charge of Army. Then House arrest followed. So goes the rumour,” former Cabinet minister and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said in a tweet.
Several Chinese nationals claimed that the PLA was going to takeover the country.
“#PLA military vehicles heading to #Beijing on Sep 22. Starting from Huanlai County near Beijing & ending in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, entire procession as long as 80 KM. Meanwhile, rumor has it that #XiJinping was under arrest after #CCP seniors removed him as head of PLA,” tweeted one Jennifer Zeng.
Two former ministers were sentenced to death and four officials were given life imprisonment this week in China, said an India Today report.
According to reports, the six were part of a ‘political faction’ and Jinping’s house arrest is believed to have been started and spread by the anti-Jinping lobby, it added.
It is believed that six of Jinping’s opponents may have started and spread the news of Jinping amid the anti-corruption campaign being run by the Communist Party.
