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Infighting behind Chinese tycoon's arrest
Staff and wires
HONG KONG, China -- Political infighting has been cited as one reason for the detention of Chinese business tycoon Yang Bin as Beijing continues to impose a news blackout on the case. South Korea's Yonhap news agency has reported that authorities in the northeastern city of Shenyang, had put Yang -- recently appointed chief executive of a North Korean special administrative region (SAR) -- under house arrest. Yang had been detained by police since he was taken from his lavish headquarters in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, early Friday morning. Yonhap quoted Chinese sources as saying the Chinese government sent a vice minister-level official to Pyongyang to explain the detention of the Chinese-Dutch flower tycoon. The agency quoted a Chinese source as saying the authorities were investigating Yang after confining him to a house in Shenyang and were unlikely to allow him to leave the northeastern city any time soon. China's second richest manYang, who heads the Hong Kong-listed Euro-Asia Agriculture (Holdings), is due to formally inaugurate the Sinuiju SAR later this month. North Korea has complained about his detention to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. So far, Beijing authorities have not publicized the reasons for the detention of Yang, who is listed by international journals as the second richest man in China. A news blackout has been imposed on the domestic media, so that even Shenyang residents are not aware of Yang's latest setbacks.
The semi-official China News Service, which mainly serves Hong Kong and foreign media, has reported that Yang has been held for tax evasion and "business activities that are illegal and against regulations." However, CNS has not given a reason for the timing of Yang's detention, given that he had conducted his allegedly "illegal" businesses for at least a few years. InfightingSome diplomatic analysts in the Chinese capital believe Yang's arrest may have to do with Chinese displeasure at Pyongyang's failure to consult Beijing concerning the businessman's appointment as a de facto North Korean official. Sources in Shenyang, however, have pointed to internal factional infighting in the run-up to the 16th Communist party Congress next month. Yang has not disguised his personal ties to senior cadres including Vice-Premier Li Lanqing, former Shenyang Mayor Mu Suixin and in particular, Liaoning Governor Bo Xilai, a rising star in the Communist party. However, Mu has been arrested for alleged corruption, Li is due to retire at the 16th Congress, and Bo is tipped to be promoted soon to a senior position outside of Liaoning Province. It is believed Yang has sought the patronage of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in view of the diminution of his domestic "power network."
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