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Team or Enterprise Premium FT. Given the bad blood known to exist between Wen and Bo, many anticipate supporters of the latter will seize on the report with glee.
Others wonder if it may reduce Wen's future influence. Although he is due to retire as premier, former leaders still play a significant role in the party's decision-making. Many people — particularly among the elite — had been aware of rumours about Wen's relatives. But the scale of the reported assets is striking and the timing highly sensitive.
While one Sina Weibo user described the report as a shock, another wrote: "Looking at the numbers, I think it is still conservative. Both remarks were swiftly deleted, as were other references to the New York Times story.
Censorship means many in China will remain unaware of the US account. Wen has repeatedly urged China's leaders to ensure their families and associates do not abuse government influence, and pushed for officials to disclose the assets of their immediate families. Declarations are not public and the New York Times said four-fifths of the assets it found were held by relatives not covered by party rules, including his mother and various in-laws.
A former government colleague of Wen, speaking anonymously, told the New York Times: "In the senior leadership, there's no family that doesn't have these problems … His enemies are intentionally trying to smear him by letting this leak out.
A US diplomatic cable obtained by Wikileaks, dating from , quoted an executive in Shanghai as saying: "Wen is disgusted with his family's activities, but is either unable or unwilling to curtail them. In March, the premier made an emotional defence of his tenure during his annual press conference, saying history would have the final say and stressing that he had never pursued personal gain.
Substantial holdings in the name of Wen's mother and other relatives were held via an investment vehicle run by a wealthy businesswoman close to Wen's wife, Zhang Beili.
Duan Weihong told the New York Times the investments were her own. As her husband worked his way through the ranks, she began to blur the line between regulator and businesswomen. She used state money to help set up Beijing Diamond, a big jewelry retailer, and later set up Sino-Diamond, a venture financed by the state-owned China Mineral and Gem Corporation of which she was the boss.
She later used the profits from the diamond industry to move into other ventures, always being careful to remain in the background of business dealings. Barboza states that he didn't find any instances of Wen explicitly using his power to help his wife — but people bent over backwards to help her anyway, without his interjections.
Wen wasn't unaware of this. Wen's wife and children all have a reputation as people who can 'get things done' at the right price.
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