Illness, scandal or worse? China's missing foreign minister

The Chinese government has acknowledged that Qin, 57, would skip the Jakarta meeting, citing health reasons, but it has otherwise declined to give any details or updates. In Beijing, reporters have repeatedly asked the foreign ministry questions such as when Qin would return to work, only to be told that officials had "no information" to provide. Secrecy from the government has only fuelled the speculation over Qin's absence, threatening to distract from China's efforts to power up its diplomacy to ease tensions with Western powers and court Asian neighbours. The episode "is embarrassing and unsettling to Chinese diplomats because of…