“Chinese economist Zhu Hengpeng disappeared after criticizing the government in a private WeChat chat.”, — write: www.epravda.com.ua
Chinese economist Zhu Hengpeng disappeared after criticizing the government in a private WeChat chat.
About this informs The Wall Street Journal.
Zhu Hengpeng was detained in the spring after, according to one witness, he wrote in a private chat on the WeChat app about China’s weak economy and made veiled criticism of Xi Jinping, referring to his mortality.
Hengpeng worked for more than two decades at the think tank, where he specialized in health economics, advising the government on policies related to hospital overhauls and access to health care.
In 2014, he was appointed deputy director of the CASS Institute of Economics. He also served as an independent director at China Meheco Group, a state-owned pharmaceutical company, from 2013 to 2015.
The Hengpeng investigation coincided with an indoctrination campaign for CASS staff to enforce Communist Party rules.
Party members in leadership positions were required to sign official commitments to comply with the “10 Prohibitions” – a list of prohibited activities, including the publication of inappropriate materials and cooperation with foreign organizations without permission.
It is reported that the status of the investigation into Zhu Hengpeng cannot be determined, and it is not known whether he has legal representation. He did not respond to emailed requests for comment. No one answered the door of the apartment in Beijing, which is listed as his address in Hong Kong corporate documents.
The publication notes that Zhu Hengpeng’s last public appearance was in late April, when he suggested that China could close the funding gap in its pension system if young Chinese paid for their parents’ pensions and if more government bonds were issued. .
Zhu was also scheduled to speak at another conference of Tsinghua University’s Center for Industrial Development and Environmental Management (CIDEG) on May 25, but the Center’s post-conference report did not mention Zhu as a speaker or participant.
Zhu’s name has disappeared from the online directory of senior officials of the CASS Institute of Economics, as well as from the list of members of the Tsinghua CIDEG academic committee.