Index – Foreigner – A real estate mogul criticizing the head of state has been sentenced in China to eighteen years



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Chen Chiang, 69, was arrested in March shortly after he posted an article on the internet accusing the Chinese president of improper handling of a coronavirus epidemic in the central Chinese city of Wuhan last December. In his essay, Zhen, famous for his outspoken style, believed that by restricting freedom of expression and silencing abuses by silencing shrouds, the Chinese leadership further aggravated the situation. At one point in the writing, Zhen allegedly made a covert reference to the Chinese president, whom he never mentions by name, when he put it this way:

I don’t see an emperor there in his “new robe”, but a naked clown who insists he is still an emperor.

Zsent, who previously served as Huajüen Real Estate Company’s chairman and undersecretary of the party, was expelled from the Chinese Communist Party in July after 46 years of membership due, among other things, to “tarnishing the image of the party and the country” and “infidelity and dishonesty” towards the party. The move also sends a strong message because not only was Zsen himself a prominent member of the party, but his father, Zhen Chen-sheng, had previously had significant political influence as vice minister of commerce.

Zhen Chiang already faced the party leadership in 2016: he received a one-year suspension as punishment for criticizing Xi’s propaganda measures and his position that state media should align with the party in posts posted on the internet. At the same time, the real estate mogul’s account with 37 million followers on the Weibo microblogging, called Twitter in China, was closed.

According to a statement released Tuesday, Zhens was found guilty by the court of embezzling significant amounts of public money, accepting bribes and abusing power on the charges, and sentenced him to eighteen years in prison and fines. They add that the man pleaded guilty to all charges and accepted the court’s decision, without wanting to appeal.



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