Zhou Yongkang's graft-accused son made shows for state television
Zhou Bin and his wife built entertainment production company
Fresh details have emerged about the business dealings of Zhou Bin, the son of former senior leader Zhou Yongkang, who is being investigated for corruption.
The son and his wife built an entertainment production company that may have enjoyed preferential treatment from the state broadcaster, insiders told the Sunday Morning Post.
Several official media outlets reported last week that Zhou Bin, 42, had built a business empire from dealings with the oil industry, riding on his father's coattails. As well as being one of the nation's most powerful leaders and its security tsar, Zhou Yongkang controlled its oil industry.
But the involvement of Zhou Bin and his Chinese-American wife Huang Wan , 43, in the film and television industry is not widely known. Both are in detention and also under investigation for corruption.
According to a source who spoke to the Post on condition of anonymity, the couple's interest in the field began over dinner with friends in 2005 at a restaurant near their Beijing home.
Zhou mentioned casually that his wife had been deeply moved by a true story on state broadcaster China Central Television about a lawyer who donated a kidney to his sick mother, said the source, who was at the dinner.
Huang saw the potential for a television drama series based on the story and how it could project a positive public message, this source said, adding: "Huang was very excited about her idea, and Zhou was supportive."