Zhu Hengpeng, one of China's most important economists, deputy director of a think tank of the government and the Institute of Economics, disappeared into thin air months after his arrest for writing comments critical of Xi Jinping. The 55-year-old man allegedly wrote derogatory remarks about the country's economy and the Chinese president in a private group on the WeChat application, similar to our WhatsApp. Hengpeng, apparently from The Wall Street Journalwas reportedly arrested in April and an investigation was opened against him. In the meantime, all trace of him has been lost.
The disappearance of Hengpeng
For the moment, the exact content of the comments which led first to the sanction and then to the arrest of Zhu Hengpeng is not known. The Chinese newspaper Chant Tao daily described the messages: “Inappropriate discussion of central policies.” THE Wsj he added that there would also have been references to the “mortality of Xi Jinping”. However, Hong Kong media knows that the Beijing government's first reaction was to dismiss the director and secretary of the Institute of Economics, as well as Hengpeng himself. The withdrawal of the first two was followed by posting to other government institutes. Which didn't happen to Zhu. Chinese sources report that his last public appearance was last April. That's not all. Zhu served as director of the Public Policy Research Center and a member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) for more than twenty years. The 55-year-old's profile has disappeared from Cass's website and all his posts, related to his work for Tsinghua University, have been hidden and taken “offline”.
The connection between Cass and Beijing
To better understand the situation, we must first keep in mind that the Cass is a think tank detail: reports directly to the State Council, which serves as the political cabinet of the Chinese Communist Party. Cass has long wielded enormous influence as an economic advisor to Beijing, and throughout history he has also had the opportunity to conduct analyzes quite far from pro-government positions. Since Xi Jinping came to power, criticism of his policies and the Party has become less and less permitted. According to the Tutormany Cass scholars have reported a growing fear of reporting or discussing negative assessments of China's economic, social, or political situation. In short, the threat of punishment or retaliation is alive.
In recent months, Cass staff have also been involved in various “political education” sessions. The objective of these meetings was loyalty to the party and adherence to Xi Jinping Thought, the political ideology to which Beijing has adhered since 2013. The work of the Cass, we read in the description of the last “lesson “, “must put the strict enforcement of party political discipline must first be enforced and must work hard to enforce discipline and follow the rules. » The lesson-punishment combination was also adopted by Xi Jinping to regiment military leaders and get rid of any figures who might have hindered his position. Starting with politicians, entrepreneurs but also actresses and athletes.
A slowing economy
This disappearance occurred at a time of great difficulty for the Chinese economy. It is likely, according to some analysts, that the country will not achieve the annual growth target of 5%. The slow recovery after the Covid pandemic is strongly influenced by the crisis in the real estate sector, which created a real speculative bubble. Builders go into debt, build but don't receive enough money to repay the loan. Growth in retail sales and industrial production also fell short of expectations, stopping at 4.5% versus 4.8% expected. Amid all this, the unemployment rate has started to rise again. And on Tuesday September 24, the Chinese Central Bank announced new stimulus measures to try to revive economic growth.
Cover photo: EPA/XINHUA/Xie Huanchi
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