North Korea's plans to road-test the market economy and engage the world by enticing foreign investment took a hit yesterday when the Chinese-born entrepreneur enlisted to run the project was "summoned" by police -- reportedly to answer accusations of tax evasion.
Yang Bin was "summoned according to the law by local public security organs" in the northeastern city of Shenyang, where his company's headquarters are located, according to the Web site of China News Service, a government agency targeted at overseas Chinese.
It said authorities' reason for the questioning -- which, it noted, came at 5am -- was "illegal business activities."
"He's been summoned. He hasn't been arrested," one of Yang's spokesmen, Duan Xiaohong, told reporters. "I'm not too sure where he is right now."
It was not immediately clear whether Yang, chief of Hong Kong-listed Euro-Asia Agricultural Holdings Co. and one of China's richest men, was charged with anything or simply questioned and released. Dow Jones Newswires, quoting a Euro-Asia source, said Yang was detained and "invited to talk with the Shenyang police" about unpaid taxes.
Duan wouldn't confirm that. "I can't say if he was summoned because of a tax problem," he said.
Late yesterday afternoon, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it had received news of Yang's summons but was still "trying to understand the situation."
Yang was sworn in last week to head the Sinuiju Special Administrative Region, established by North Korea on Sept. 12 just across the border from China.
In the days since, he has held optimistic news conferences and touted the project as a signal of North Korea's willingness to move away from the isolation that has characterized it for decades.
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