Sons of top Chinese officials 'used family links to cash in'
Offspring of two disgraced senior figures and a retired provincial leader allegedly took advantage of fathers' power to expand business empire
The sons of two disgraced senior officials and a retired provincial leader took advantage of their fathers' power to expand their business empire, mainland media reported yesterday.
Zhou Jing, the son of disgraced former Hebei party chief Zhou Benshun, had close business connections to Hu Xiongjie, the son of a former leader of Hunan's political advisory body, The Beijing News and Shanghai-based online news outlet The Paper reported.
The junior Zhou was also a business associate of Zhao Jin, the tycoon son of powerful retired Jiangsu cadre Zhao Shaolin , the reports said.
Both Zhous, both Zhaos and the junior Hu have been taken away for investigation.
The junior Zhou, 35, befriended the junior Hu in 1999, after Zhou's father, then party chief of Shaoyang city, Hunan, met Hu's father, then party leader of the province, said The Beijing News.
The junior Hu, about 10 years older than Zhou, had already made a name for himself in Changsha circles.
In 2000, the senior Zhou was promoted to provincial police chief. A year later, Hu started his business ventures in real estate development. The young Hu and Zhou kept their identities unknown as they earned commissions by helping developers to obtain land, the report said.