Coronavirus: Chinese millionaire critical of Xi Jinping under investigation

Text by: RFI Follow

Disappeared from speed cameras since March after denouncing the Chinese government's late response to the epidemic, former big boss Ren Zhiqiang has been placed under investigation, suspected of "serious breaches of discipline and the law" by the Commission Party inspection and discipline.

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Chinese admiring Internet users call it "Ren the cannon". The former real estate developer was indeed not afraid of shooting red bullets at the Communist Party of which he is nevertheless one of the members.

A critical figure in the economic sphere, he disappeared from radar in March, shortly after having published a harsh article criticizing the authorities' response to the Covid-19 epidemic, which appeared in the metropolis of Wuhan in late 2019.

In this text, shared widely on social networks last February and deleted since, Ren Zhiqiang calls Chinese President Xi Jinping a " naked clown, determined to appear like an emperor ". He criticizes the delays in managing the coronavirus epidemic. According to him, the media - muzzled - could not alert public opinion, and whistleblowers, like Doctor Li Wenliang , were forced to remain silent for the sole purpose of protecting the interests of the party and of its senior leaders.

Did he think he was untouchable? It is possible, because Ren Zhiqiang, aged 69, is part of the seraglio, son of the red aristocracy. Her father, who participated in the revolution, was a senior official, as was that of President Xi Jinping.

However, already in 2016, the former big boss and famous blogger with his 37 million subscribers, had been in trouble. At the time, he criticized the stranglehold on state media, reduced to disseminating propaganda to the glory of the president.

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