Opinion | Corruption fighters home in on big property owners
Cheating junior officials have been exposed for building up bulging property portfolios, but it is clear they are just the tip of the iceberg
Since 2007, when the subprime mortgage crisis emerged in the United States and almost dragged the entire world into a deep recession, some foreign investors have eyed China's property market with growing suspicion.
They have argued that the property bubble will burst spectacularly, sooner rather than later, plunging the mainland into an unprecedented economic crisis.
While official data is not complete and unreliable, some have cited the anecdotal evidence of seeing only a smattering of lights shining at luxury housing estates in major cities at night as proof that most of the units are vacant and unsold, tying up trillions of yuan in bank loans. However, except for a brief dip in 2009, the mainland's real estate market has remained buoyant despite the government's tough and repeated efforts to bring down housing prices.
Now the emergence of the so-called "Uncle of Property" and "Aunt of Property" in the wake of the leadership's new anti-corruption efforts has provided interesting anecdotal evidence of this buoyancy.
Internet users coined the terms to refer to corrupt officials who own dozens of residential and commercial properties.
The first to acquire the name was Cai Bin, a junior official in charge of urban management in the Panyu district of Guangzhou. On October 22 he was sacked and detained on corruption charges after the local authorities confirmed he and his family owned 22 properties, including villas, flats, factories, shops and car parking spaces with a total value of more than 40 million yuan (HK$49.2 million).