The former president of a state-owned real estate company who publicly criticized President Xi Jinping’s handling of the coronavirus crisis has been expelled from the ruling Communist Party of China and will be prosecuted on corruption charges, the party said on Friday.
Ren Zhiqiang, who became known for talking about censorship and other sensitive issues, disappeared from public view in March after publishing an online essay that accused Xi of mishandling the outbreak that started in December in the central city of Wuhan.
Ren, 69, is accused of corruption, embezzlement, accepting bribes and abusing his position at a state-owned company, the Beijing Discipline Inspection Commission of the Xicheng District said on its website.
The former president and undersecretary of the Huayuan Group party was expelled from the ruling party and his case was turned over to prosecutors, the agency said. He did not give details of the alleged crimes.
Xi, who became leader of the ruling party in 2012, has suppressed criticism, tightened censorship, and cracked down on unofficial organizations. Dozens of journalists, labor and human rights activists and others have been jailed.
In a comment that circulated on social media, Ren criticized a video conference on February 23 with 170,000 officials during which Xi gave orders to respond to the coronavirus early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ren did not mention Xi by name, but said: “There was not an emperor standing up showing off his new clothes, but a clown who had taken off his clothes and insisted on being an emperor.”
Ren criticized the propaganda portraying Xi and other leaders as rescuing China from the disease without mentioning where it started or possible mistakes, such as suppressing information at the start of the outbreak.
“People didn’t see any criticism at the conference. He didn’t investigate or reveal the truth, “Ren wrote, according to a copy published by the China Digital Times, a California website.” No one reviewed or took responsibility. But they are trying to hide the truth with all sorts of great achievements. “
Ren had an early military career, and his parents were former top Communist Party officials, leading some to call him a little prince, a reference often used for the offspring of the founders of the People’s Republic, including Xi.
That state could have provided him with some immunity from prosecution, though he appears to have crossed a line criticizing Xi’s personal leadership, either by name or by implication.
Ren got into trouble a few years ago when state media reported that he had been accused of violating the party’s “political discipline”. His party membership was tested for one year. He also had initial problems in the mid-1980s.
