‘Tigers and flies’ to ‘tigers and wives’: the other-halves of senior officials caught up in Xi Jinping’s anti-graft drive
When President Xi Jinping started his huge anti-graft crackdown he vowed to “go after the tigers as well as the flies”, meaning that no one was immune.
Such a “tiger hunt” means that some tigresses – the wives of senior officials – have been caught in the spotlight, too.
Although some are suspected of making huge fortunes through the influence of their powerful husbands, others have become wealthy by adopting other methods.
And while some may have made their fortunes almost unnoticed, others have flaunted their money and power.
Here we take a look at a few of the members of the “tigers’ wives club”.
Wu Fangfang
She is the wife of Guo Zhenggang, a general in the PLA navy and deputy political commissar of the People’s Liberation Army in Zhejiang province.
He was detained last month as part of the anti-graft investigation by military prosecutors.
Guo is the son of retired general Guo Boxiong, former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, who is rumoured to be the next to face investigation.
The aggressive Zhejiang real estate developer’s typical style of dress includes low-cut tops, minskirts and red high-heeled shoes, local business people told the mainland magazine, Phoenix Weekly.
She is widely known in the province as a “tiger wife”.
In 2012, she married Guo Zhenggan. Many people in Zhejiang have suggested that part of Guo’s trouble is due to his aggressive second wife.
Wu was reportedly never shy about exploiting her husband’s influence for business profit.
After acquiring Hangzhou’s largest textile wholesale market in 2013, she increased the annual rental fee of a shop from 18,000 yuan (HK$23,000) to 82,000 yuan, the weekly reported. This angered owners of small businesses in the market.
Together with the victims of Wu’s other controversial development projects, they staged several protests at the entrance of Zhejiang provincial military region.
The protesters held up banners and yelled Guo’s name as part of slogans criticising Wu’s actions, which helped to bring him to the attention of central government officials.
Although Wu gave birth to Guo’s son during the first year of their marriage, when she was 43, military sources told the magazine that Guo came to regret the marriage.
Gu Liping
The wife of Ling Jihua, the one-time presidential aide for former president Hu Jintao, has always carried out her business dealings quietly.
Before Ling’s detention on suspicion of corruption, Gu had worked as the founder and director-general of Youth Business China (YBC), a not-for-profit organisation promoting youth entrepreneurship, reported the China Economic Weekly, a magazine run by the official party newspaper, the People’s Daily.
However, she had allegedly used YBC as a platform so she could carry out “secretive financial transactions”, the China Economic Weekly reported.
The organisation had more than 60 branches across the country and had links with almost every successful mainland business .
Some senior executives at state-owned enterprises and senior officials with close links to YBC have been placed under investigation for corruption.
They include Li You, chief executive of Founder Group and Mao Xiaofeng, president of China Minsheng Banking Group, whose arrests came after the downfall of Gu and Li.
Gu Kailai
She is the second wife of former Politburo member Bo Xilai, the disgraced former Chongqing party chief now serving a life sentence for corruption.
Gu, also know as Bogu Kaila, is the only “tiger wife” known to have killed someone. She poisoned British business partner Neil Heywood in 2011 following a dispute, Chinese authorities believe.
She was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve in August 2012 for Heywood’s murder.
Gu had also illegally amassed a fortune using her husband’s political connections, including owning valuable properties including a luxury residence in southern France, authorities said.
Yu Lifang
She is the wife of Su Rong, the former vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, China’s top political advisory body, who was placed under investigation on suspicion of corruption last June
Yu stands out among the “tiger wives” as an artist, and has been praised as a master of ceramic painting.
She once worked in an enormous workshop in Jiangxi province. However, her interests extend far beyond art, according to mainland media reports.
She has allegedly intervened in “countless” business transactions, ranging from real-estate development projects, to mining and banking.
Zhang Huiqing
She is the wife of former Yunnan party chief Bai Enpei, who is being investigated for corruption.
Zhang Huiqing had worked as a hotel waitress before meeting her husband, mainland media reported.
After becoming Bai’s second wife she was quickly promoted to the post of party secretary of Yunnan Power Grid, and enjoyed a wide social network, which included rich business people and senior officials, mainland media reported.
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