China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian lost contact for three weeks after her press conference on August 19, sparking speculation

Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council of China, has been in hiding for three weeks after hosting a press conference on August 19, sparking speculation from the outside world. (File photo, taken from the Internet)

Recently, it has been circulated on the Internet that Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of China, is suspected of being detained for extramarital affairs and accepting large amounts of bribes. In the past, the press conference of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council was hosted by Zhu Fenglian, Information Director Chen Binhua, and Hong Kong and Macao Director Zhang Han. It takes turns almost every three weeks, but after Zhu Fenglian hosted a press conference on August 19, she has been in hiding for three weeks. Zhang Han has hosted two press conferences. The press conference on Wednesday (9th) was also hosted by Chen Binhua, triggering speculation from the outside world.

According to a recent report by China News Center, Zhu Fenglian was taken into custody on the evening of August 19 due to extramarital affairs and accepting large amounts of bribes. However, since Zhu Fenglian still presided over the regular press conference of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council that morning, and the Chinese official has never issued any relevant announcement, the outside world originally believed that this was an Internet message of doubtful credibility. However, the relevant news came out as early as August 21, and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council’s regular press conferences for three consecutive weeks were hosted by Zhang Han and Chen Binhua. Zhu Fenglian did not appear to refute the rumors.

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It is understood that starting from October 15, 2025, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council will originally hold regular press conferences twice a month instead of once a week. In order to cope with the weekly press conferences, in addition to the original Zhu Fenglian and Chen Binhua, two new spokespersons were added, including Hong Kong and Macao Director Zhang Han who took over as spokesperson on November 5, 2025. In addition, Peng Qingen also became the spokesperson on October 29, 2025. However, in February 2026, he was promoted to deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and has not presided over the press conference.

People who have been following the press conferences of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council for a long time believe that it is indeed strange that Zhu Fenglian has not been seen hosting the press conference recently. However, due to the opacity of China's information, it is impossible to confirm the relevant information. If Zhu Fenglian is not seen hosting the press conference next Wednesday, and has not been seen for four consecutive weeks, it may increase the credibility of the news.