søndag 15. mars 2020

hinese executive who called Xi a 'clown' over coronavirus response 'is missing'

An influential former Chinese property executive who called president Xi Jinping a “clown” over a speech he made last month about the government’s efforts to battle the coronavirus has gone missing, according to his friends. Ren Zhiqiang, a member of China’s ruling Communist party and a former top executive of state-controlled property developer Huayuan Real Estate Group, has not been contactable since 12 March, three of his friends told Reuters.

“Many of our friends are looking for him,” his close friend and businesswoman Wang Ying said in a statement to Reuters, describing them as being “extremely anxious”. “Ren Zhiqiang is a public figure and his disappearance is widely known. The institutions responsible for this need to give a reasonable and legal explanation for this as soon as possible,” she said.