Opinion | Corrupt officials' overseas riches pose sanctions risk for China
Western efforts to freeze assets of top Putin allies should jolt Chinese leaders into finally cracking down on assets officials hold abroad
Last week, the United States and the European Union raised the heat over Russia’s annexation of Crimea by slapping sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, on dozens of leading Russian officials and businessmen.
While the sanctions have started to rattle the Russian market amid concerns over the possible long-term effects on an already troubled economy, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has stood firm. And Russian officials, including some of those sanctioned by the US and EU, have brushed off the measures as ineffective.
As the crisis unfolds, Chinese authorities are treading carefully in their responses publicly, calling for dialogue. Privately, however, officials and ordinary mainlanders alike have been intrigued and are watching closely to see how the sanctions play out.
Internet users have been particularly amused by the nonchalant response from deputy Russian prime minister, Dmitriy Rogozin, who is among those on the sanctions blacklist.
On Twitter, he laughed off US President Barack Obama’s decision to name him while trying to squeeze Putin’s inner circle, asking if “some prankster” came up with the list.
In one tweet addressed to “Comrade@BarackObama”, Rogozin asked: “What should do those who have neither accounts nor property abroad? Or U didn’t think about it?”
Rogozin’s cheeky response was widely shared on the mainland’s social media scene. Some of the country’s more cynical internet users have wondered aloud whether Communist Party officials could be so dismissive if they found themselves in a similar situation, facing Western sanctions of overseas assets.