Unverified reports over Xi Jinping’s health has surfaced on the internet after Chinese dissident leader Wanjun Xie claimed that Chinese President fainted during the last week and later suffered a severe ischaemic stroke.
An Ischemic Stroke is a medical emergency that happens when a blood clot blocks an artery and stops blood flow to a part of the brain
Xie made the claims in a series of posts on X, but there has been no official confirmation from Beijing that Xi fainted, suffered a stroke or was hospitalised.
Wanjun’s post on social media claimed that Xi was flown back to Beijing for emergency treatment at the People’s Liberation Army General Hospital, commonly known as 301 Hospital. Wanjun is the chairman of the China Democracy Party (CDP), which has been banned in China. He stays in the US, as per media reports.
The post on X also carried Community Notes on X.
on X are crowdsourced, context-adding labels attached to posts that might be misleading or missing important information. The claims about Xi’s alleged medical condition, treatment and possible US trip cancellation were presented as claims and were not independently established in the post.
No credible report backed the claim. The post has also received a community note on X, flagging it for being inconsistent with facts.
MEA has posted on X warning that malicious and fake posts about the health of leaders who attended the summit are circulating online.
, which was attended by leaders of the 11 member countries and 10 partner countries, along with representatives of international organisations.
Xi held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit but left without having the gala dinner hosted by PM Modi on Saturday, September 12.
Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday rejected reports claiming that several world leaders had fallen ill after attending the BRICS Summit in India, describing the reports as “fake”.
The ministry’s fact-checking unit, in a post on X, warned against what it described as “malicious” posts circulating on social media platforms.
“Fake Alert!!! We caution against such malicious posts on social media platforms!” the ministry said in a post on X.
The MEA’s statement came after the office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he had withdrawn from public engagements after returning from the BRICS Summit in India.
The 73-year-old president was advised by doctors to rest and recover due to ill health, according to the statement.
“The Presidency wishes to advise that, due to ill health, President Cyril Ramaphosa is currently booked off from public engagements,” it said.
Ramaphosa returned from the summit on Monday and has since been resting on medical advice, the presidency said.
(With agency inputs)
