Sichuan tycoon Liu Han's fall underlines culture of political patronage
Deng Yuwen and Jonathan Sullivan say the case of disgraced Sichuan tycoon Liu Han and his suspected ties to Zhou Yongkang point to the unholy union of money and power in China
Chinese society has been enthralled by the case of Sichuan businessman Liu Han , who was charged last week with various violent crimes, including murder. But, as unusual and scandalous as the revelations about Liu's mafia-style operations are, of even greater significance is the identity of the political protectors behind him.
In China, violent crime is usually crude and the tools of the trade unsophisticated. In Liu's case, police apparently seized advanced and strictly controlled weapons and ammunition. The acquisition of such weaponry suggests Liu was no ordinary criminal, but one with superior power and connections.
According to accounts now emerging, Liu's criminal operations went on unencumbered on a huge scale for the best part of two decades. Such longevity shows the success of the alliance he built between politics and business, and suggests that there must have been a high-level patron protecting him.
That person is widely believed to be Zhou Yongkang, the former security tsar who Xi Jinping has prioritised in his anti-corruption campaign, following the fall of Bo Xilai.
It is not coincidental that Liu established his politics-crime-business connections during Zhou's time as provincial secretary of Sichuan. Casting around for political patrons, Liu allegedly first hooked Zhou's eldest son with a massive investment deal.
The release of evidence showing a direct connection between Liu and Zhou will have to wait until the investigators' reports are out. But it is hard to find anyone who does not believe that there was one, if only because it would explain Liu's legendary arrogance, claiming once that he was a "born winner" who "never lost".