Chinese tycoon who criticized Xi Jinping's handling of coronavirus jailed for 18 years

CNN ^ | 09/22/2020 | Steven Jiang

[BenLurkin]

A Chinese billionaire who criticized President Xi Jinping's handling of the coronavirus pandemic has been jailed for 18 years on corruption charges, a court said Tuesday.

Ren Zhiqiang, a retired real-estate tycoon with close ties to senior Chinese officials, disappeared in March after he allegedly penned a scathing essay that month criticizing Xi's response to the coronavirus epidemic. He was later charged with corruption-related offenses.

On Tuesday, a court in Beijing found Ren guilty on multiple charges, including embezzling some $16.3 million (110.6 million yuan) in public funds, accepting bribes, and abuse of power that caused losses totaling $17.2 million (116.7 million yuan) for the state-owned property company that he once headed.

Judges sentenced him to 18 years in prison and imposed a fine of $620,000 (4.2 million yuan). The court said he "voluntarily confessed all of his crimes" and "was willing to accept the court's verdict after all of his illegal gains were recovered."

China's court system has a conviction rate of around 99%, according to legal observers, and corruption charges are often used to go after Communist Party insiders who fall afoul of the leadership.

[BenLurkin]

China's court system has a conviction rate of around 99%

Never forget: The Democrat Party admires Red China.

[Seruzawa]

Don’t even try to equate China’s “Justice” System with ours, CNN. Ours is fraught with trouble, imperfect and often unjust. China’s is just plain evil.

[antidemoncrat]

Those who criticize Joe Birdbrain’s handling of coronavirus to be jailed for 18 years.

There, fixed it.

[rockinqsranch]

Ain’t Commie-nism grand?

[Moltke]

More proof that money doesn’t equal smarts.

Why would someone that rich stay in China to be picked up and jailed on a whim?

Take the money and run, dude....

[butlerweave]

Remember when Obama wished the US was more like China ,LOL

[Zhang Fei]

[More proof that money doesn’t equal smarts.

Why would someone that rich stay in China to be picked up and jailed on a whim?

Take the money and run, dude....]

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He wanted to be a player. And he may yet be, depending on the people he can get on his side. Plenty of China’s party leaders have spent time on the political outs or in prison. Mao viewed Deng Xiaoping as a threat to the throne for speaking out in favor of private enterprise*, but perhaps too popular with powerful members of the PLA brass to kill, having served as co-commander during one of the CCP’s decisive penultimate battles:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huaihai_campaign

Deng was purged twice and spent some time as a line worker in an industrial plant decades after serving as the equivalent of a 5 star general. Then, some time after he got out, and after Mao died, Deng organized a coup against Mao’s hand-picked successor, and the rest is history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hua_Guofeng#Ousting_and_death

* Not so much for the idea per se, but for what in power politics terms was a challenge mounted against Mao’s authority. And in truth, there was method to Mao’s paranoia. In absolutist regimes, challenges to the sovereign’s power from courtiers are never head-on collisions. They run more along the lines of picking at loose threads. Then one day the emperor finds out that he’s emperor in name only. And the day after that, he’s no longer emperor even in name.

[Phillyred]

This is EXACTLY what democrats want for us. They would justify it that you threatened the common good.

[ridesthemiles]

Biden & his son, Hunter, are in bed with the Chinese......

[simpson96]

Criticism = Corruption. Eighteen YEARS in jail.

And abject moron liberal voters support China’s pet, Biden.

There’s no bottom to liberal’s stupidity.

[laplata]

You’re right. The Dems would rival the Chinese if they ever take over.

[Zhang Fei]

[You’re right. The Dems would rival the Chinese if they ever take over.]

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Worse. Much worse. China’s basically a non-hereditary monarchy with a capitalist economy (with businesses subject to arbitrary seizure by the emperor on a whim or if he sees the owner as a threat). The Democrats are looking to create a socialist economy full of takers, combined with a warrior class (blacks) endowed with legal impunity for any crimes they commit. Say what you will of China, but in most parts of the country, including the poor areas, you can walk around at just about any time of the day without risking physical harm. Democrats are looking to turn the entire country into Gary, Indiana - a place where walking around in broad daylight is like playing a round of Russian roulette.

[laplata]

Good points. I’ve said many times on FR that if they are ever in the position to do so, the Dems will make Hitler and Stalin blush with envy.

[blueplum]

Convicted for accepting bribes in a country that turns on bribes? Profiting from real estate when all real estate is state-owned?

Must have been calling Xi a ‘clown stripped naked’ that got him expelled from the CCP and the wheels turning on how to confiscate his wealth.