Bao Tong, once an aide to former CCP General Secretary Zhao Ziyang, was arrested in Beijing on May 28, 1989, just days before Zhao resigned in protest of Deng Xiaoping’s use of military force against pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square. Bao was sentenced to 7 years in prison in 1992 for “revealing state secrets and counter-revolutionary propagandizing,” and became the highest ranking official to be charged in relation to the 1989 movement. After serving his full term in solitary confinement, Bao continues to be under the close watch of authorities, and nevertheless speaks out on sensitive issues such as official corruption, civil rights, free expression, and the Dalai Lama.
In a series of recent tweets Bao Tong signaled his approval of fugitive billionaire Guo Wengui‘s ongoing social-media fueled campaign of allegations against top Chinese officials and business people:
我看不清楚中国特色是什么东西。
郭文贵老师指着它说，看哪！
我也看到了，终于看清楚了：它是黑！中国的特色就是黑。
谢谢老师启蒙，谢谢！— 鲍彤 Bao Tong (@baotong1932) July 15, 2017
I wasn’t able to see exactly what “Chinese characteristics” are. Teacher Guo Wengui pointed them out, saying “look!”
I can now also finally see it clearly: it is darkness! Chinese characteristics are precisely that.
Thank you teacher for your instruction, thank you!
好一個七一七！不可磨滅。
任重道遠。— 鲍彤 Bao Tong (@baotong1932) July 18, 2017
The 7/17 video is good! Indelible.
A heavy load and a long road.
郭文貴提供線索舉報海航。
新華社發通稿保衛海航。
美國銀行決定停止對海航的業務。
歐洲央行準備考察海航收購德意志銀行的資格。
真叫人眼花繚亂——境外勢力幫助中國反腐；新華社旗幟鮮明反反腐。
紀委和檢察院想不想立案，目前尚不得而知。— 鲍彤 Bao Tong (@baotong1932) July 22, 2017
Guo Wengui offers a trail of clues denouncing HNA.
Xinhua issues reports defending HNA.
Bank of America decides to halt business with HNA.
The European Central Bank prepares to investigate HNA’s purchase of Deutsche Bank resources.
It’s dizzying—foreign forces assist with China’s anti-corruption drive; Xinhua shows its true colors to be anti-anti-corruption.
Whether or not the CCDI and the Procuratorate want to file a case is still unknown.
抱歉！前文“想不想立案”是“敢不敢立案”之誤。
— 鲍彤 Bao Tong (@baotong1932) July 22, 2017
Apologies! Error in my last tweet, “whether or not the CCDI and the Procuratorate WANT to file” was supposed to be “whether or not they will DARE to file.”
Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co. has been the subject of several corruption allegations by Guo Wengui which tie the company’s holdings to top leader Wang Qishan and his relatives. HNA’s shares reportedly plunged in April after Guo’s allegations, and the holding company has filed a defamation lawsuit against Guo in New York. HNA’s global activity has been under scrutiny—last week, Bank of America Corp. ordered investment bankers to stop working on transactions with HNA, and it was reported that the European Central Bank was considering an investigation into HNA’s purchase of a stake in Deutsche Bank—and the firm today released a statement claiming that two charities own the majority of its shares in response to concerns about its ownership structure.
