The Panama Papers

[Randy W]

in the WSJ

 

China’s Censors Scramble to Curb ‘Panama Papers’ News

 

Since news reports emerged Sunday on the so-called “Panama Papers,” Chinese media have largely ignored their revelations on offshore assets controlled by relatives of top party officials, including President Xi Jinping. Censors have curbed news and social media mentions of the documents, though their efforts appear uneven.

Relatives of several current and former members of China’s Politburo Standing Committee, the party’s top decision-making body, were reportedly identified in the documents, which included emails, financial spreadsheets and corporate records from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca & Co.

Those officials include Mr. Xi, former premier Li Peng, and ex-Politburo Standing Committee member Jia Qinglin, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which was among the more than 100 news organizations that have examined the Panama Papers.

 

 

. . . and the SCMP

 

China's elite hiding billions overseas, US report says

Relatives of Wen Jiabao and Hu Jintao are among the members of China's elite that are hiding money offshore, US investigative journalists report

 

 

Communist Party leaders have recently tried to discourage members from offloading illegally accrued wealth abroad.

Earlier this month, the party said that officials with close family relatives living abroad would be barred from promotions.

At least 1.2 million cadres would have been affected, according to last year's estimate by Chinese Academy of Governance professor Zhu Lijia.

 

 

[Greg.D.]

"US Report Says"?

 

China is trying to tarnish the veracity of the leaked doc's by saying they were crafted by enemies of China and, necessarily, are biased against China. But the project to summarize the documents is truly international. From the Guardian:

 

"t took a fleet of assiduous journalists in half a dozen countries to start to make sense of the small print, but within hours of the first articles and broadcasts, a similar pattern emerged in the response."

[Greg.D.]

Thinking about this, many people in government in China have not been supportive "anti-corruption" campaigns and purges that have occurred at Xi's direction. And, not just for obvious reasons like they are likely to be caught in the net. But things like implicit agreements between the party and the ruling class that movers and shakers would be allowed to get rich in exchange for looking the other way regarding the party's legitimacy.

 

I am guessing quite a few people are having a good laugh about these leaks behind the scenes.

[Randy W]

in the Shanghaiist

 

Mossack Fonseca has more branches in China than any other country. We wonder why.

 

According to its website, Mossack Fonseca operates branches in eight Chinese cities. For those with some money to hide, the cities include Dalian, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Jinan, Ningbo, Qingdao, Shanghai and Shenzhen. The news came as a shock to us. We didn't think people in Jinan had enough money to need hiding.

The British-based Guardian newspaper said an internal Mossack Fonseca survey found the biggest proportion of its offshore company owners came from mainland China, followed by Hong Kong.

. . .

directives have been sent to state media organs warning them not to publish any coverage on the leaks, threatening that if foreign media reports attacking China are reprinted "it will be dealt with severely."

Party mouthpiece Global Times has however published an article on the Panama Papers, at least on its English language website. It claims that the leak of confidential documents amounts to a Western conspiracy to strike a blow at non-Western political elites and organizations.

 

[Randy W]

in the SCMP

 

Xi Jinping tightens reins on business ties of Chinese officials’ families in wake of Panama Papers

A test programme to limit the business activities of senior officials’ relatives will be expanded from Shanghai to four more major regions through the country

 

The programme, which defines and regulates the business activities of officials’ relatives, has been up and running in Shanghai since the middle of last year and on Monday a central task force headed by President Xi Jinping decided to expand the experiment to cover four other provincial-level regions: Guangdong, Xinjiang, Beijing and Chongqing.

The expansion of the programme also comes after the Panama Papers revealed that, among other countries’ prominent figures, family members of eight serving or retired Chinese leaders were involved in using offshore companies for business.

The decision to expand the programme was taken at a meeting of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms, chaired by Xi.

. . .

“We will work to strictly define such business activities, to make detailed rules and procedures for implementation,” Xinhua reported, citing a post-meeting statement.

The statement added that such rules would be institutionalised and become long-term and “normal” practice.

Reports of corruption cases that have come to light suggest that it is common for family members of senior officials to use their relationships to enrich themselves financially.

. . .

In the Shanghai experiment, spouses of senior officials are banned from holding top positions in private companies or senior jobs in foreign-invested enterprises.

Their children and the children’s spouses may engage in business, but not in the administrative area where the official works.

Officials are also required to make regular reports to their superiors on the business activities of their relatives.

 

[amberjack1234]

Of course they have to make a statement but WILL it be enforced?

[Randy W]

The next line in the article . . .

 

But Shanghai’s scheme does not spell out specific punishments for violations of such terms.

 

It apparently hits fairly close to home

 

The Panama Papers are super awkward for Beijing