Media speculate Xi injured in accident

There were a series of media reports saying that Chinese Vice President and presumptive future top leader Xi Jinping was injured in a traffic accident, barring him from some public functions.


Xi and He Guoqiang, who supervises discipline affairs in China, have been receiving medical treatments at Beijing's 301 Military Hospital after they were injured in two separate road accidents on the evening of Sept. 4, according to reports of Boxun, a U.S.-based citizen news website.

There were also reports in Hong Kong media about the accidents, sparking speculation and rumors that they were assassination attempts.

Xi, aged 59 and a new-generation leader in China, has been widely tipped to take over the top Communist post from General Secretary Hu Jintao at the Communist Party Congress expected to take place in October this year. Xi is also expected to take over national presidency in next March.

But there were rife rumors after Xi canceled a public appearance for a meeting with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sept. 5.

There were also unconfirmed reports that Xi was suffering from a