China’s Political Power List Hints at Fate of Disappeared Official

China’s former Defense Minister Wei Fenghe was absent from a prominent list of retired Chinese political figures, fueling speculation about his fate. Wei was missing from an official list of prominent retired officials published by the Chinese Communist Party that acknowledges the central figures of the Chinese political system. State broadcaster China Central Television broadcasted the list as part of Lunar New Year greetings. Wei’s predecessors, Chang Wanquan, Liang Guanglie, Cao Gangchuan, and Chi Haotian, were present on the list published on Wednesday, as first reported on Thursday by Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post. Newsweek independently confirmed that…