Opinion | I thought I could do a better job, says man arrested for impersonating official

Shenyang native Zhao Xiyong won't plead guilty to fraud charges, his lawyer said

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A photo of Zhao Xiyong circulating on Sina Weibo.

Published: 12:20pm, 4 Apr 2013Updated: 4:13am, 29 Aug 2013

It took Zhao Xiyong, a 58-year-old Shenyang native, three years to rise from being a nobody to the position of vice-ministerial level civil servant. Having inspected six Chinese provinces, held countless meetings and given speeches, Zhao was arrested for impersonating a national official in March.

On Wednesday, his lawyer said Zhao would plead not guilty to charges of fraud, because his client had not profited financially from them. He said Zhao just thought he could do better than China’s real officials.

In 2004, Zhao unsuccessfully applied for a position with China’s highest executive organ, the State Council.

He then returned to work in his family’s business in Liaoning until 2009, when at a local meeting he was mistaken for a State Council researcher, his lawyer Kuang Jimei told the Dongfang Daily. “At this point, he realised the kind of influence such a position could give him,” Kuang said.

In 2010, he left his home province for Luodi in Hunan impersonating a State Council researcher, where the local government made him a member of the "Expert consultation and deliberation committee for major administrative decisions," the Changjiang Evening News reported.

"It's such a pity to see such a talented person not taking the right path," a local official told the daily in reaction to Zhao's arrest. They had enough money, his wife told the paper. Her husband's actions did not bring any financial benefit to the family, she said.

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