Li Peng's wife denies rumours of business links

scmp ^ | December 10, 2001 | MARK O'NEILL in Beijing

[super175]

The wife of Beijing's second-in-command, Li Peng, has given a rare interview to deny rumours that she had run a company, owned stocks or bonds or had a personal beautician.

The Legal Daily published the story - an excerpt from the magazine Elite of China - about Zhu Lin on Saturday.

Ms Zhu appears often at official functions and meetings with her husband, who was premier for 10 years until 1998 and is now chairman of the National People's Congress. He ranks second in the Communist Party to President Jiang Zemin.

Like wives of other leaders, Ms Zhu rarely speaks in the press but has a bad reputation among the public, who believe she has abused her power to make money in real estate and stock trading. One story suggests she never wears the same outfit twice and buys or is given new clothes on foreign visits.

The interview appeared to be an attempt to combat such rumours. It also could suggest a more serious attack within the Communist Party against Ms Zhu and her husband ahead of a party plenum next year, where their opponents want Mr Li to give up his position as a member of the Standing Committee.

"Since primary school, I did not like maths and did not have the time or patience, so I did not like lotteries or shares. I have never had a single share or illegal bond. I do not oppose others trading shares but I really do not have this ability," she said.

The "illegal bond" appears to be a reference to a pyramid scam in the early 1990s in which thousands lost money and Ms Zhu was rumoured to be involved.

Ms Zhu listed her jobs as high-level engineer, head of the foreign affairs department of the North China Power Management Bureau, head of the Beijing office of the Guangdong Daya Bay Power Station and director of the research department of the State Council Office for Special Zones.

"I have never held the post of president or chief executive of a company," she said, adding that positions she had held at women's and charity organisations bore no relation to any company.

Asked about the stories surrounding her, Ms Zhu said: "I know these evil and hurtful rumours. My answer is that, even if you repeat a rumour one thousand times, it is not true. There will always be dark and evil people. I do not care. I use righteousness to suppress evil."

Asked if she had a personal beautician and cosmetician, Ms Zhu said she had to be clean and well dressed for foreign guests.

"When I was young, times were difficult and I used Shanghai face cream. Later, when we became better off, friends gave me some cosmetics. Of course, we hope to look better. But I do not have a personal beautician or cosmetician."

[Fulbright]

I smell another Byzantine Peking opera story here, like the Lin Piao fiasco that ended in a plane crash near the Soviet border.