Controversy? What controversy? Cone of silence over muzzling of tycoon Ren Zhiqiang
It was all quiet on the political adviser front yesterday when members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference were asked about controversial retired property developer Ren Zhiqiang and the tightening of speech on the mainland.
Last week Ren, a Communist Party member, openly questioned President Xi Jinping’s call for the media to maintain “absolute loyalty” to the party. His mainland-based microblog accounts were subsequently shut down.
Other “Big V”s, or celebrities and high-profile commentators, have also come under attack from party mouthpieces for their opinions online.
Asked about the controversy on Friday on the second day of the CPPCC’s annual session, Nobel laureate Mo Yan, whose pen name translates as “don’t speak”, brushed off the request with just one word: “Lunch.”
Actor Zhang Guoli then strode past swiftly and avoided being buttonholed by reporters waiting at the secure Beijing Convention Centre on the fifth ring road.
Later, prominent film director and award-winning actor Feng Xiaogang tried to exit a meeting room under cover of a baseball cap.