China sentences businessman who criticized Xi to 18 years in prison
The Beijing Second Intermediate People’s Court found Ren guilty of "corruption, bribery, embezzlement of public funds and abuse of power by personnel of a state-owned firm."
Ren, 69, a former Communist Party member and chairman of Huayuan Properties, had been friends with party elites including Vice President Wang Qishan, China’s second-most powerful leader.
He was a former employer of Liu He, who is now Beijing’s top negotiator in the trade war with the United States.
Ren was expelled from the party in July after being accused of "colluding with his children to accumulate wealth without restraint."
Ren, his son and assistant disappeared earlier in the year, after he penned an essay critical of Beijing’s response to the coronavirus crisis.
Although his essay didn’t name Xi directly, it talked about a power-hungry "clown" "determined to play emperor."
Ren had previously criticized the party in social media posts. His punishment suggests that the space for criticism of China’s top leadership has all but closed.
Beijing has recently also clamped down on academics critical of the party.
The court said Ren confessed to his crimes and accepted the sentence.
