A Possible military coup in China?

Social media has been abuzz with rumours of a possible coup in China claiming that the country's president Xi Jinping has been deposed. Speculations began on the internet after Jinping was said to be missing from the public eye following his return from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Uzbekistan – his first official foreign visit since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Neither the official spokeperson of the China's ruling Communist Party nor the state media have confirmed it.

After Xi Jinping's leaving the SCO in Samarkand, claims of the president being under house arrest went rife. The claims have been dismissed by experts saying that there is a strong possibility that the Chinese premier is under quarantine owing to the country's strict zero-Covid policy that mandates every individual who enters China from abroad to undergo quarantine.

Reports of fewer passenger flights to and fro of Beijing were also shared across social media in addition to claims that all trains and buses have been cancelled. Beijing Capital International Airport's website, however, showed that some flights were cancelled, several others were scheduled, slightly delayed, or had already landed.

Two former ministers were sentenced to death and four officials were sent to life imprisonment in China last week as the Communist Party continues its anti-corruption campaign strongly initiated by Xi Jinping. The removal of officials, said to be opponents of Xi, is an indication of his hold and influence on the party and China at large.