We have extensively covered President Biden’s health problems and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rumored battle with cancer. Another world leader is also being affected by the affliction, as several media outlets report that Chinese President Xi Jinping (68) has a brain aneurysm. Rumors of rivals plotting a coup against him are making his life harder, due to the nation’s restrictive and economic-killing COVID lockdowns.
Xi Jinping reportedly suffering from ‘cerebral aneurysm’ https://t.co/SIysIo0O9D pic.twitter.com/TIQuVz8EzN
— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) May 10, 2022
According to the ANI news agency in New Delhi, Xi opted against surgery and instead chose traditional Chinese medicine that can soften blood vessels and shrink aneurysms. He was reported to have been admitted at the end of 2021.
Signs of trouble began as far back as 2019 when Xi’s gait was spotted to be “unusual with a visible limp” and he reportedly needed help sitting down.
International Business Times: Xi was heard and seen coughing a lot last October during a speech in Shenzhen promoting China’s first special economic zone. Although the Chinese media kept his health a secret, critics claimed that Xi had coughed a lot and had “frequently paused for water” during the speech.
Because he had avoided meeting with world leaders between the start of the pandemic and the Beijing Winter Olympics, the chatter only got louder.
Worse, the strongman is China’s President. Rumors of an overthrow have been circulating since 2013, as China has imposed some of the most stringent COVID measures anywhere in the world. From The Sun
Instead of learning to live well with the virus, the totalitarian regime is attempting to eradicate all cases by tightening borders, mass testing, and placing sweeping quarantines.
China’s brutal strategy involves imposing severe restrictions on cities and towns with a few infections. Whole buildings are sealed off, even if one has been reported. Those who have tested positive are sent to quarantine camps.
Premier Li Keqiang raised the alarm, calling out China’s “complicated” and “grave” employment situation due to the lockdown measures. So it’s not often that a Chinese official is at odds with Winnie The Pooh. Roger Garside, a former diplomat and author of China Coup: the Great Leap to Freedom said that Xi would be defeated by internal rivals, with the winner coming “within the top ranks of the Communist Party.”
What happens if one or more of these leaders is unable to work due to illness? Vlad points fingers at Dmitry Kovalev (an administration official), sure to be just as humorless and sarcastic as his predecessor. Xi would point fingers at a similarly faceless technocrat (or a general if there’s a coup). Joe would point out Kamala, nearly as witless as POTUS.
Of course, this doesn’t include elections which could alter the landscape. Xi will next face the National People’s Congress on November 20,22. Joe Biden, if he is running, has a difficult prospect of winning in 2024. Putin will face Russian voters in 2024. However, if he is still around, it should be a simple formality.
The world may be very different with three of the most important world leaders now battling illness and age.
