Breaking | Retired Chinese foreign ministry official describes diplomatic answer to tricky question
In March 2014, a reporter asked Lu Xinhua if security tsar Zhou Yongkang would be investigated for graft. Everyone had to wait another four months for the answer
Retired political star Lu Xinhua was the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s top official in Hong Kong for six years, but made his name with a witty comment about disgraced security chief Zhou Yongkang.
Before the opening of the annual meeting of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in March 2014, Lu, who then the top political advisory body’s spokesman, was asked if Zhou – who in office as one of the country’s most powerful and senior leaders – would be investigated for graft.
“Anyone who violates party discipline and state law will be seriously investigated and punished,” he replied, then added: “I can only say this much at the moment. You know what I’m saying.”
From that time, the phrase “you know what I’m saying” became so popular that it became synonymous with Zhou.
In his first interview after retiring in December, Lu told Xiangsheng Bao, a mouthpiece for Hunan provincial People’s Political Consultative Conference about the tremendous pressure he was under at that particular press conference.