Coronavirus: Chinese tycoon missing after calling Xi Jinping 'naked clown' over handling of COVID-19 outbreak
A former Chinese property executive is allegedly missing shortly after he called President Xi Jinping a "clown" over a speech the leader made last month about the government's efforts to combat coronavirus in the region. Xi, last week, had made a visit to Wuhan to greet the quarantined residents there, in a sign that the country is preparing to declare victory over the deadly outbreak.
The influential executive, identified as 69-year-old Ren Zhiqiang, has not been in contact with his friend or family members since March 12, Reuters reported. Ren is a member of the country's ruling Communist Party and a former top executive of state-controlled property developer Huayuan Real Estate Group.
Ren's close friend and businessman Wang Ying, in a statement to the outlet, said: "Many of our friends are looking for him. Ren Zhiqiang is a public figure and his disappearance is widely know[n]. The institutions responsible for this need to give a reasonable and legal explanation for this as soon as possible." Reuters described the friend as anxious and added that calls made by them to Ren's phone went unanswered. State authorities have not yet responded to requests for comments regarding his disappearance.
Ren, recently, had shared an essay with people he knew, which took a swipe at a speech made by Xi on February 23. Later, copies of Ren's essay were posted online by others. Although the essay does not mention Xi by name, Ren stated after studying the speech he "saw not an emperor standing there exhibiting his 'new clothes', but a clown stripped naked who insisted on continuing being emperor," according to a version of it posted by China Digital Times.
The essay also stated that the speech revealed a "crisis of governance" within the party and that a lack of free speech and press have prevented the coronavirus outbreak from being contained sooner. The novel coronavirus, which originated in China late last year, has infected over 81,000 people in the country and killed at least 3,213. The pandemic, overall, has claimed over 6,510 lives.
Ren's disappearance has come at a time when censorship of local media and online users discussing the pandemic has tightened in recent weeks. Reports state that Ren, who is popularly known as "Cannon Ren", was previously put on probation for a year in 2016 after he criticized the government on social media. The government even ordered his social media accounts, which had more than 30 million followers, to be shut down for "spreading illegal information."