A Chinese property tycoon was expelled from the Communist Party after he called President Xi Jinping “a clown,” and the party filed corruption charges against him.
Ren Zhiqiang reportedly went missing in March after a scathing criticism he wrote about Xi’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic in China. Ren published an essay accusing Xi of covering up the early stages of the outbreak, saying that no one at the party “took responsibility,” the Independent reported.
“Standing there was not an emperor showing off his new clothes, but a clown who had taken off his clothes and insisted on being an emperor,” Ren wrote, without specifically naming Xi.
In this Dec. 3, 2012, file photo, Chinese real estate magnate Ren Zhiqiang poses for photos in his Beijing office. Ren, a former chairman of a state-owned real estate company who publicly criticized Chinese President Xi Jinping’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, has been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and will be prosecuted on corruption charges, the party announced on Friday 24 July 2020.
(Color China Photo via AP)
Soon after, the party launched an investigation, citing allegations of corruption and political misdeeds, including embezzlement of funds from its state-owned company Huayuan Group, accepting bribes and abuses of power. The Beijing Discipline Inspection Commission also said that Ren had “publicly published articles that opposed the four basic principles” of the Communist Party.
The party accused Ren of “distorting the party’s history” and showing disloyalty and dishonesty to the party.
Friends say they believe the investigation against Ren was politically motivated and motivated by his trial, according to the Wall Street Journal. Ren has long been considered a symbol of Xi’s dissent, regularly voicing his views on the party’s government and operations, and some believe he is being used as an example to show that no one is above party loyalty. .
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The BBC once labeled him “Donald Trump of China”. The party previously placed him on probation for comments made online, shutting down his social media accounts.
“This is shameless political persecution,” said Wang Ying, a retired businessman and Ren’s friend, in a post on WeChat, The New York Times reported. “This is a good weird man, a good citizen who is responsible and ready to take responsibility, an entrepreneur who played his part and followed the law.”
The Times also reported that Xi said Tuesday at a meeting of business leaders that they should try to “improve their patriotism.”
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“Patriotism is the glorious tradition of our country’s prominent entrepreneurs in modern times,” he said, according to a transcript published by Xinhua, the official news agency.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
