Missing Chinese-Canadian Mogul Will Stand Trial In China, Embassy Says
ForbesDec 25, 2022
China: Chinese-Canadian Tycoon Xiao Jianhua Sentenced To 13 Years In Jail
Image copyright: CUHK [via Hong Kong Free Press]
The Facts
On Fri., a Shanghai court sentenced Chinese-Canadian billionaire Xiao Jianhua to 13 years in jail after finding him guilty of corrupt practices, including bribery and illegally using funds. The ruling follows a five-year probe.
The decision also comprises a $950K personal fine on Xiao and an unprecedented $8M fine on his Tomorrow Group for damaging and undermining financial management and imperiling national financial security.
The Spin
Anti-China narrative
Xiao is among several powerful Chinese businessmen who had deep ties with high-level officials but have become trapped by a dispute for power within the Communist Party elite. All the secrecy involving his case comes from the fact that he knows too much about Xi Jinping and his political allies.
Pro-China narrative
The West often criticizes Beijing's efforts to tackle corruption, even though PRC institutions are combating it at full strength regardless of who is involved. Ironically, corruption has become institutionalized in Western political systems, and unfavorable rhetoric can only be understood as a means to promote an ideological war against China.