IN MOST countries there have been storms of protest as a result of revelations of financial shenanigans in the “Panama papers”, as a hoard of documents from Mossack Fonseca, a law firm, have been dubbed. Angry publics have been demanding explanations from wealthy people implicated, or the resignations of political leaders named. But not in China.
The files show that nine of the country’s most prominent families, including a relative of President Xi Jinping—own or have owned secret offshore companies, mostly based in the British Virgin Islands. Official media have largely kept quiet about this and censors have removed any mention of the scandal online. On April 5th a foreign ministry spokesman called allegations relating to Chinese leaders “unfounded”, but refused to discuss the matter further. Global Times, a newspaper owned by the Communist Party, did carry a sketchy report on the papers but made no mention of what they suggested about the financial affairs of prominent Chinese. Its English-language edition dismissed the matter as “a new means for the ideology-allied Western nations to strike a blow to non-Western...Continue reading
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