Chinese police have detained a property developer after he threatened to speak out about a former police chief rumored to have tried to defect to the US, his lawyer said yesterday.
Chongqing businessman Zhang Mingyu (張明渝) was detained in Beijing on Wednesday after posting on his microblog that he had information to explain “Wang Lijun’s (王立軍) jigsaw puzzle,” his lawyer said.
Wang, deputy mayor and former police chief of Chongqing, is famed as one of China’s top graft-busters after leading a crackdown that led to scores of senior officials being jailed in the southwestern municipality of 30 million people.
However, the former police officer, who is linked to one of China’s most powerful politicians, disappeared last month after visiting the US consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu, sparking rumors he had sought asylum.
The latest development will further fuel speculation surrounding Wang and his boss, Chongqing’s colorful, but controversial traditionalist Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Secretary Bo Xilai (薄熙來), who is trying to join China’s top decisionmaking body.
It comes during the annual National People’s Congress (NPC) 10-day parliamentary session in Beijing, which is being closely watched for indications of which leaders will join the CCP Politburo Standing Committee later this year, when a major transition of power begins.
Zhang’s lawyer Pu Zhiqiang (浦志強) said yesterday his client had recorded conversations with Wang, in which the former police officer warned him against going public with corruption allegations against Weng Zhenjie (翁振傑), the head of several financial institutions in Chongqing.
Zhang has reportedly accused Weng of illegally seizing assets in his real-estate company and having links to criminal gangs in Chongqing.
Pu said Chongqing police detained Zhang at his apartment in Beijing, where state media previously said he has been living since reporting his allegations to the CCP’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Wang, 52, was dismissed as police chief last month. Chongqing authorities said he was on leave, receiving “vacation-style treatment” for stress and overwork.
However, a travel Web site authorized to display passenger flight details shows Wang flew to Beijing with a top state security officer on Feb. 8. His current whereabouts are not known.
Calls to Chongqing police yesterday went unanswered, while Beijing police declined to comment. Calls to Weng’s organizations were not answered.
Meanwhile, Bo yesterday missed an important session of the NPC. He was the only one of the 25 members of the politburo not at the meeting.
Such no-shows are highly unusual and Bo had attended the session as usual on Wednesday.
An NPC spokesman said he had no information about Bo’s absence.
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