China Sentences Outspoken Billionaire Ren Zhiqiang for 18 Years in Prison
Published Date: 9/22/2020
Source: Bloomberg QuickTake: Now
China jailed outspoken property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang for 18 years on graft charges, months after he was linked to an article criticizing President Xi Jinping’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak. The businessman has been under investigation since March, when he was widely speculated to be the source of an anonymous article blaming a “crisis of governance” for early efforts to cover up the coronavirus in Wuhan. The piece warned against a growing concentration of power, describing the country’s “great leader” as a “clown with no clothes who was still determined to play emperor.” The former chairman of Huayuan Property Co. was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to 4 charges including corruption and abuse of power, the No.2 Beijing Intermediate People’s Court said. Ren was found to have amassed some 132 million yuan ($19 million) in bribes and other ill-gotten personal benefits between 2003 and 2017, the court said, adding that he had agreed not to appeal. The prison term was unusually long, although some figures targeted during Xi’s eight-year anti-corruption campaign have been given suspended death sentences. The trial sent a warning to any would-be critics of Xi, who has run China since 2012 and amassed more power than any Communist Party leader since Mao Zedong. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm QUICKTAKE ON SOCIAL: Follow QuickTake on Twitter: twitter.com/quicktake Like QuickTake on Facebook: facebook.com/quicktake Follow QuickTake on Instagram: instagram.com/quicktake Subscribe to our newsletter: https://bit.ly/2FJ0oQZ Email us at [email protected] QuickTake by Bloomberg is a global news network delivering up-to-the-minute analysis on the biggest news, trends and ideas for a new generation of leaders.