Southern Weekly apologises to insurance firm for errors in reporting
Newspaper suggested that Anbang Insurance, which is buying the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, had benefitted from Communist Party connections
Southern Weekly, a respected newspaper in China known for its investigative reporting, has publicly apologised to an insurance company it suggested had benefitted from its strong links to the Communist Party.
The newspaper said on its website that an article about Anbang Insurance Group had contained errors.
“Regarding the related reports on Anbang Insurance published on January 29, there was false information after fact checking. [We] issue apologies to the Anbang Insurance Group and key personnel,” it said.
Anbang Insurance hit the headlines last year after it bid US$1.95 billon to buy the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York.
The Beijing-based insurer said on its website on Monday that it has been given the go-ahead for the purchase by US regulators.
The Southern Weekly’s article published last Thursday said Chen Xiaolu, the son of Chen Yi, a general who fought with Mao Zedong in the years leading to the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, had been the real power at Anbang for a period.
The report also alleged that Wu Xiaohui, the chairman of the group, had married the granddaughter of former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping.
The article hinted these powerful connections had significantly helped develop the company.
Other reports by the respected Chinese news service Caixin later questioned parts of the Southern Weekly article.
They quoted Chen as saying that he did not have any post within the company and also reported that Wu has divorced Deng’s granddaughter.
The apology from Southern Weekly did not detail which parts of its report were wrong.
The editorial department at the newspaper declined to comment.
