主题：【讨论】秦刚这事算是正式出锅了 -- 别看我矮

Many rumors surrounding the sudden disappearance of the Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang. Of course, I don't know where he is or what is happening to him.

Instead I will share my impressions of our meeting and working together in 2015.

He then headed the Protocol Department of the Foreign Ministry and came to Belarus as part of a delegation led by Xi Jinping. You can spot him in this picrure. Or us both in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpmaVcNOW_U&t=31s&ab_channel=%D0%98%D0%BD%D1%84%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%91%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%A2%D0%90

Let me start by saying that the Chinese protocol is a huge machine that employs hundreds of diplomats. The entire Protocol department of Belarus then consisted of 11 people. This is also the reason why a young dilomat like me had a chance to work with Qin Gang and other CH VIPs.

Preparations for Xi's visit began a few months before he arrived in Minsk. Chinese diplomats persistently came to the Foreign Ministry literally every day. We discussed exactly the same protocol aspects of the visit several dozen times

Like if the head of Belarusian protocol should go up and greet Xi when his plane lands. As you can see here, Chinese were against

Our everyday negotiations felt like Groundhog Day. We ended them late in the evening, agreed on all the protocol nuances, but the next day the Chinese colleagues again asked for a meeting. And we discussed the same thing again. And so day after day.

To be honest, we could save a lot of time. Because when Chinese diplomats didn't like something, they called Beijing. And later Beijing called Lukashenka's administration. Surely, almost any whim of China's leadership immediately became a new arrangement.

Despite the fact that there is no concept of “state visit”(the most honorable type of visit) in Belarusian protocol practice, Chinese diplomats called Xi’s visit that way. The Chinese Embassy even bought dozens of huge advertising banners all over Minsk to promote it this way

Under pressure from China and under the temptation of Chinese investments, Minsk gave in and agreed to call the visit exactly “state”. Here is the screen from the Lukashenka's website

The first day of the visit ended very late. And on the second day, Xi planned to visit the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. At 2 o'clock in the morning, Qin Gang decided to once again check the readiness of the museum to meet his boss.

At 2 am (!!!), at his request, my colleagues woke up the deputy director of the museum and asked him to arrange another excursion to the museum for the Chinese protocol.

Pic. Museum of the Great Patriotic War (World War II)

It looked very surreal. Chinese diplomats walked up the stairs of the museum, counted the steps and asked: “When will the solemn music turn on? What step will the Chairman (Xi) step at this moment? Will it be this one? Or that one? Are you sure?!".

At 3 am, I was sure only that I wanted to sleep, and just pointed to a random step. As you guessed, tomorrow the music turned on at a completely different moment

The next morning, I had breakfast together with Qin Gan at the "Beiging Hotel" (the Chinese built it in Minsk, among other things, in order to receive large delegations from the PRC).

He surprised me with his excellent English and how his subordinates were afraid of him. We briefly discussed the visit and plans for today. He was eating traditional Chinese noodle soup. Very, very, very (!) loudly (no exaggeration here).

When Xi finally flew back to Beijing, I approached one of the Chinese diplomats (subordinates of Qin Gang) and asked him: “What was all this for? These months of useless negotiations about the same thing. This game of arithmetic with steps at the museum at night?".

Perhaps for the first time in months, he was completely honest with me: “In Beijing, there are several hundred people rowing behind me for my position. So, if I don't do this, someone else will."

〔即時新聞／綜合報導〕中國外長秦剛超過30天不曾現身，如今外長職位進一步遭到撤換，引發各界臆測。前白俄羅斯外交官斯隆金（Pavel Slunkin）24日在社交媒體搭上這股話題，分享了2015年他與秦剛共事的奇葩經歷。

斯隆金首先點出，當時中國國家主席習近平計畫出訪白俄，而身為禮賓司司長的秦剛帶團來到白俄做事前準備。對斯隆金來說，中國外交部禮賓司「是一部龐大的機器」，擁有數以百計的官員，相反的，白俄禮賓部門的編制只有11人，這也就是為甚麼像他這樣的年輕外交官，能跟秦剛等中國高級官員接觸。

斯隆金說，早在習近平到訪白俄前幾個月，中國外交部的官員就堅持「每一天」都到白俄外交部，找他們討論禮賓流程，然而每次討論的事情完全是一樣的。

斯隆金解釋，兩邊人馬會在深夜敲定一切禮賓上的細微歧見，但隔天中國人就又上門要求開會，討論一模一樣的事情，日子就這樣重複下去，簡直就像電影《今天暫時停止》（Groundhog Day）的情節。

斯隆金接著提到，習近平第一天的行程結束的很晚，而他第二天打算參訪白俄的二戰博物館。因此秦剛決定在凌晨2點到現場檢查，確認一切準備就緒。白俄外交人員只好喚醒博物館副館長，請副館長安排流程。

斯隆金回憶，當時的場面可以說是非常的魔幻，秦剛等人踏上階梯，一邊數著步伐一邊問著：「甚麼時候會奏樂？那個時候主席（指習近平）會踏上哪一階？是這一階嗎？還是那一階？你確定？」

斯隆金表示，當時是凌晨3點，他唯一「確定」的是他想睡覺，因此隨便指向一階，想當然，當天儀隊奏樂的時刻，習近平所處的地方，根本不是他指的那一層階梯。

斯隆金接下去表示，隔天早上他與秦剛共進早餐，他對於秦剛流利的英文以及秦剛下屬畏懼上司的程度十分驚訝，此外也有一件事讓他印象深刻：秦剛當時正在吃一碗湯麵，但他進食的聲音「非常非常非常」的大聲。

斯隆金最後提到，等到習近平回國後，他向秦剛的一名下屬搭話，詢問這幾個月以來，不斷重複的準備工作到底有甚麼意義，對方則回答：「在北京，有上百人排在我後面盯著我的位置，所以就算我不做這些，也有人會做。」