China sends message to the private sector as tycoon Zhang Wenzhong exonerated
Former Wumart chairman’s case seen as a bid to reassure entrepreneurs that their assets will be protected by the Communist Party
For Chinese businessman Zhang Wenzhong, justice came with a broader message to his fellow private entrepreneurs who have been closely watching his case.
A decade ago, the retail magnate was thrown in jail for 18 years for bribery and fraud. Now, his exoneration is being held up as an example of the ruling Communist Party’s protection of private property, in an apparent attempt to allay private sector concerns over its increasingly heavy hand.
Zhang, founder of one of China’s biggest retailers Wumart, was declared innocent on Thursday by the Supreme People’s Court, following a lengthy appeals battle after being released early, in 2013.
His is the first guilty verdict to be quashed of three high-profile appeal cases involving private businessmen that the Supreme People’s Court vowed to retry in December – a move seen as an attempt to reassure entrepreneurs that their assets would be protected by the party, which in its earlier days vowed to “eliminate private ownership”.
In an interview broadcast nationwide on Thursday, a solemn Zhang was keen to send home the message. “[I] really have to thank the party and the supreme court. It is because of the party central leadership’s rule by law and protection of property rights that my injustice of 12 years has been redressed,” he told state broadcaster CCTV.