Censors
removed an anonymous posting on a Chinese news portal that defended
President Xi Jinping over family members named in the Panama leaks as
having offshore holdings, highlighting the sensitivity to discussion of
the wealth of the country’s leaders.
The post entitled "Did Chief Xi Manage Children and
Relatives Well or Not?" argued the president and Communist Party head
had nothing to fear from the
revelations in documents leaked from a law firm in Panama. It was
published on several online news portals and circulated on social media
before disappearing several hours later.
"The Panama Papers have not unveiled any material detrimental to
Chief Xi -- they rather proved that Xi had started to manage his
relatives several years before the leaks and got things under control,"
said the post, which was published at 5 p.m. Tuesday on the
Shanghai-based website
Jiemian. "It makes no sense to use the Panama Papers to criticize Chief Xi."
The move to scrub the article attributed to an "overseas
blog" reflects concern about any information that might undermine Xi’s
authority as he lays the groundwork for a reshuffle of the party
leadership next year. Under his watch China has embarked on a massive
anti-graft campaign while curbing dissent as it grapples with the
slowest growth in a quarter century.
China’s censors have quickly wiped any mention of Chinese
links to the Panama leaks since news organizations affiliated with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
began publishing reports earlier this month. The reports, based on a cache of leaked documents,
alleged law firm Mossack Fonseca helped set up anonymous shell
companies around the world to hide wealth for politicians and the
ultra-rich.
Largely Silent
Aside from one editorial
assessing the leaks as likely to provide fodder to criticize
non-Western nations, China’s state-run media has been largely silent and
online searches related to the leaks have been blocked.
The Jiemian post was soon published by dozens of other new
portals, including Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s influential QQ. Jiemian was
founded last year as a joint venture between newspaper publisher
Shanghai United Media Group and investors including Guotai Junan
Securities Co. and Xiaomi Corp., according to its website. Calls to
Jiemian’s offices in Beijing and Shanghai were unanswered.
Dali Yang, a political science professor and director of the
University of Chicago Center in Beijing, attributed the posting to
either a "well-intended move by an upstart media outlet" or a "carefully
calculated" effort to counter public angst over the Panama leaks. ‘Clearly Designed’
"The information contained in the piece is known, but the
way it was pulled together was clearly designed to defend Xi," Yang
said, adding the "brief availability has already achieved its purpose."
Recent weeks have seen a handful of sensitive political
documents posted on the Internet, even as Xi increases pressure on state
media to toe the party line. At least 20 people were
detained last month after the state-backed Wujie News website
published a letter calling on Xi to resign, the British Broadcasting
Corp. reported.
The ICIJ reports showed that Deng Jiagui -- husband to Xi’s
sister, Qi Qiaoqiao -- was a shareholder in two British Virgin Islands
companies. Bloomberg News
reported in 2012 that Deng and Qi had hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate, shares and other assets.
There have been signs that Deng and Qi moved to divest at
least some of their wealth before Xi took power in November 2012. Deng
told Bloomberg that year he was retired. ICIJ said the two BVI companies
associated with him were made inactive before May 2011.
The post probably perpetuated speculation over the Xi
family’s wealth, despite its attempt to clarify his role in the matter,
said Qiao Mu, a professor of media studies at Beijing Foreign Studies
University.
"This apparent floor-washing effort at clarification on
behalf of the leader proved to be counterproductive," Qiao said. "It’s
like trying to wipe off black ink, but ending up blacker."
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