Ex-Chinese ambassador to Singapore Sun Haiyan seen at official event after report says she was detained
A Reuters report earlier said Sun was detained in early August, around the time that her boss Liu Jianchao was taken in for questioning.
Sun Haiyan, vice minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attends the India Independence Day reception with the Indian ambassador in Beijing on Aug 15, 2025. (Photo: X/@ZichenWanghere)
BEIJING: Sun Haiyan, a senior Chinese diplomat and former ambassador to Singapore, was seen at an official event in Beijing, following a Reuters report that she had been detained for questioning.
According to Reuters, citing people with knowledge of the matter, Sun was detained in early August, around the time that her boss Liu Jianchao was taken in for questioning.
Liu, the head of the International Department of China's Communist Party, was widely seen as a potential foreign minister candidate.
Hours after its original report on Friday (Aug 15), Reuters later said, citing a witness, that she had reappeared at an Indian national day event in Beijing.
Sun was the first woman to serve as vice minister of the Communist Party's International Department.
In its earlier report, Reuters said none of the sources knew the basis of the questioning of either Sun or Liu. The sources requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Liu's detention marked the highest-level disappearance of a diplomat since China ousted its former foreign minister and President Xi Jinping's protege, Qin Gang, in 2023, following an unexplained public absence.
His detention followed a work trip to Singapore, South Africa and Algeria. His house was searched in early August.
China's State Council Information Office, which handles media queries for the government, and the International Department did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
In its earlier report, Reuters said it could not verify if both Sun and Liu were still being detained. Neither could be reached for comment.
Both their profiles remain on the International Department's website.
Among Sun's recent public appearances was on Aug 1, when CNA saw her in person at a reception hosted by Singapore's embassy in Beijing.
Sun, 53, was stationed in Singapore between May 2022 and July 2023. When she left her post, she hosted a 500-person reception at a luxury Singapore hotel, according to Chinese news reports.
She joined the International Department in 1997, where she served in a wide range of roles, including spokesperson and head of the bureau responsible for ties with Southeast Asian countries. She also served as a district Party Committee official in the city of Zibo, Shandong province, in 2008.
Originally from Hebei province, Sun holds a doctorate in law from Peking University, having also studied at Japan's Kyushu University.
