* Overseas, the significance of Twitter lies in its use as a tool to chat and kill time; here at home, Twitter indicates how computer savvy a person is and whether he believes in freedom.

* Hey, quick! Read this news: On the 22nd, Beijing will again raise the national security level. The “three lines of defense” level that was held during the Olympics is coming back. http://bit.ly/iS3ys

* The National Day celebrations are being celebrated as if everyone were attempting to overthrow the government. The party state is so nervous even the martians are envious: look, those earthlings are raising guns to celebrate their National Day, there are even three lines of defense!

* Since our government is upside-down, the following unbearable events can occur: turning a funeral into a wedding, like the post-5.12 earthquake propaganda and memorializing; at the same time, turning a wedding into a funeral, like the so-called 60th anniversary of the National Day.

(...)
Read the rest of Tweets of the Week: National Day Celebrations and Internet Control (429 words)

© Xiao Qiang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Ai Weiwei, Chen Liangyu, Fang Binxing, Great Firewall, Hu Jintao, real name registration, river crabs, tweets, Wu Hao, Xi Jinping
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Many wondered if any high-level corrupt officials, after being fired and disgraced, would make their way back into politics or such. Now here’s one, Qiu Xiaohua, former minister of the National Bureau of Statistics, who fell during the pension fund scandal of former Shanghai party secretary, Chen Liangyu.

According to Xinhua’s Jan. 23, 2007 news dispatch, Qiu took bribes, had a debauched life and was suspected of polygamy. He was one of the many high-ranking officials who got shot down in the big whirl of investigations into the pension fund scandal.

Qiu recently wrote an essay published on the Economic Observer’s web site, titled “Policy Suggestions for Handling the Current Economic Situation.” The author was described as former chief of National Bureau of Statistics and currently senior researcher with CNOOC. He suggested that in order to control inflation, the government not only needs to work on curbing demand for the currency but also to work on optimizing supply and relieving the burden of enterprises and the people.

Qiu got out of prison in June, and was said to have started working for state oil company CNOOC, but no details of that position were revealed.

Phone calls to employees of CNOOC didn’t help much either. There were no official announcements of Qiu’s hiring. He could have been hired as a consultant, but normally CNOOC has technical experts for such positions.

Also interesting, among the search results of the same story, Baidu.com, Xinhua’s story, a re-run of the news, was deleted.

© Xiao Qiang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chen Liangyu, pension fund scandal, Qiu Xiaohua
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The son of Shanghai’s former Party chief Chen Liangyu was jailed for three years in Tianjin yesterday, with four years’ probation, over his involvement in the infamous Shanghai pension-fund scandal.

The Tianjin No.2 Intermediate People’s Court found Chen Weili guilty of misusing the city’s pension fund, together with his father, via lending a media company 1 billion yuan (US$147 million).

After receiving the money, the Huawen Media Investment Corporation hired Chen Weili as general manager of one of its subsidiaries and paid him 1 million yuan a year.

Chen Weili was also found to have made illicit profits from the Shanghai Shenhua Group when he acted as its deputy general manager.

He was given a “VIP card” with 100,000 yuan installed after his father dined with Shenhua’s general manager, Yu Zhifei.

© Liu Yong for China Digital Times (CDT), 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chen Liangyu, Chen Weili, corruption, pension fund scandal, Shanghai
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On April 4, the gavel came down for the sentencing of Chen Liangyu. This former member of the Politburo and one-time Shanghai party secretary will spend 18 years in prison after being found guilty of taking bribes and abusing his official powers. Since last June, we have seen a series of connected court cases concerning economic crimes committed in relation to the Shanghai pension scandal come to trial in Shanghai, Tianjin, Anhui and Jilin (see our cover stories Judgment in the Shanghai Pension Scandal Case, Shattered Halo for a Shanghai Magnate, and The Trial of Chen Liangyu). Now, we have an opportunity to take time to reflect and put the matter in perspective.

There is much to reflect on. While many things remain to be done, two must be given priority: The drafting, promulgation and resolute implementation of a “sunshine law;” and issuance of a system of rules governing the behavior of the family and close colleagues of leading officials. This is a fundamental step for the successful implementation of a strategy for fighting and preventing corruption, and for the rebuilding of public confidence.

© Liu Yong for China Digital Times (CDT), 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: anti-corruption, Chen Liangyu, Hu Shuli, pension fund scandal
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Shanghai’s disgraced Communist Party chief, jailed for 18 years this month for corruption, has decided not to appeal, state media said on Tuesday.

Chen Liangyu was found guilty of taking bribes and abuse of power by a court in the northern port city of Tianjin on April 11, becoming the most senior Chinese official imprisoned for graft in a decade. He had been held since 2006.

Chen did not file an appeal in the 10-day period he was allowed and the sentence had thus taken “legal effect”, China Central Television said.

The court also confiscated 300,000 yuan ($42,900) of Chen’s assets, but cleared him of a charge of dereliction of duty.

Read also Former Shanghai chief not to appeal by Xinhua.

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Post tags: Chen Liangyu, pension fund scandal, Shanghai
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See AP’s report:

The former Communist Party chief of China’s financial capital was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison for his role in a massive corruption scandal involving a third of the city’s pension funds.

Chen Liangyu, who also was a member of China’s powerful 24-seat Politburo, was the highest-level Chinese official to be dismissed in a decade. The official Xinhua News Agency said Chen was locked up “for taking bribes and abusing power.”

Chen’s lawyer, Gao Zicheng, indicated Chen would appeal. “If Chen appeals, it’s not over,” he said, declining further comment. Chen was sentenced in Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court.

Read also Former Shanghai Party chief Chen Liangyu sentenced to 18 years in jail by Xinhua.

© Liu Yong for China Digital Times (CDT), 2008. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chen Liangyu, pension fund scandal, Shanghai
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The Shanghai pension fund scandal that came to light in the summer 2006 involved some 30 people including major political figures, senior managers at state-owned enterprises and wealthy businessmen. After a lengthy process spanning nearly two years of investigations and hearings, the culmination was reached March 25, the opening day of trial for Chen Liangyu.

The previous afternoon, the 61-year-old Chen was brought under guard from Beijing’s Qincheng Prison to a courtroom Tianjin. The judicial proceedings came 18 months after he fell from power for his involvement in the pension scandal and was removed from public sight after serving as a prestigious member of the national Politburo and secretary-general of the Communist Party in Shanghai.

As the most senior official among those implicated in the far-reaching scandal, Chen’s trial marked the beginning of closure for a deep scar of corruption that rocked China.

Read also The Trial of Chen Liangyu by Hanwei.

© Liu Yong for China Digital Times (CDT), 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chen Liangyu, pension fund scandal, Shanghai
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The first hearing of the city’s former Party secretary Chen Liangyu, who was axed for corruption two years ago, has concluded in Tianjin, the media reported Thursday.

At the hearing, 62-year-old Chen, the highest Party official ousted in the past decade, said he was “partially responsible” for the misuse of social security funds, the Beijing Evening News said.

He did not, however, plead guilty during the hearing, which was held on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People’s Court. A verdict has yet to be reached.

Read also Trial of ousted Shanghai Communist Party chief begins: Reports by AP.

© Liu Yong for China Digital Times (CDT), 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chen Liangyu, pension fund scandal, Shanghai
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A Shanghai real estate tycoon who served a three-year prison term after a stock market scandal is on trial for alleged bribery and tax offenses, a state-run magazine reported Wednesday.

Zhou Zhengyi was detained a year ago amid a probe of government misconduct that brought down the Shanghai Communist Party secretary and other city leaders.

State media reports say he is charged with misappropriation of funds, bribery and forging value-added tax receipts. [Full Text]

Read also Troubled Shanghai tycoon on trial again from China Daily.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2007. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chen Liangyu, corruption, Zhou Zhengyi
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In an apartment in the Luwan district of Shanghai, an old couple has saved a well-worn newspaper dated July 27, 2007. The headline reads, “China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Answers Reporters on Chen Liangyu’s Serious Violation of Principles.”

“We know nothing more than what was printed in the paper,” said the husband, Chen Genghua (ÈôàÊõ¥Âçé), an 86-year-old retired engineer, as his wife, Li Mouzhen (ÊùéË∞ãÁúü), bears a look of sadness and distress.

The person mentioned in the headline is Shanghai’s disgraced former party secretary, who has been embroiled in a multi-billion yuan pension fund scandal. Chen is also the eldest of the couple’s three sons. [Full Text]

© Liu Yong for China Digital Times (CDT), 2007. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: anti-corruption, Chen Liangyu, pension fund scandal, Shanghai
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