 "Top Chinese economist vanishes after remarks against Xi in private chat")
A leading economist from one of China’s top research institutions has come under investigation, been detained, and removed from his positions after allegedly criticising President Xi Jinping’s handling of the country’s economy in a private chat, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Zhu Hengpeng, who held the position of deputy director at the Institute of Economics within the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) for a decade, is being investigated as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intensifies efforts to suppress negative discussions about the country’s economic state, according to the report.
Zhu, who is about to turn 55, was detained in the spring after making critical comments in a private WeChat group, the report said citing sources. His remarks reportedly included concerns about China’s slowing economy and subtle criticisms of Xi, including references to his mortality, The Wall Street Journal said.
The specific offences being investigated are unclear. However, Zhu has since been removed from his posts at CASS, where he also served as deputy party secretary, and his name no longer appears on the personnel list of a think tank associated with Beijing’s Tsinghua University.
Zhu, who had spent over two decades at CASS specialising in health economics, advised the government on healthcare policies and became a prominent voice on such matters. He was appointed deputy director of the CASS Institute of Economics in 2014.
He also served as an independent director for the state-owned pharmaceutical firm China Meheco Group from 2013 to 2015, according to corporate filings.
The report further noted that there was no response at a Beijing apartment listed as his address in a Hong Kong corporate filing.
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Reason behind the economist disappearance in China
Zhu’s last public appearance was in late April when he spoke at a conference organised by the financial news outlet Caixin about elder care. He suggested addressing pension system deficits by having young Chinese contribute to their parents’ pensions and issuing more government bonds, provided confidence in the economy remained strong, according to Caixin.
The comments sparked debate on social media, with some users voicing concerns that the idea would add to the financial pressures already faced by young Chinese dealing with rising living costs and weak job prospects.
Zhu was scheduled to speak at a Tsinghua University conference on May 25, organised by the Center for Industrial Development and Environmental Governance (CIDEG), where he served on the academic committee. However, his name was absent from the post-event report, and his speaking slot was filled by another academic, sources familiar with the event said.
Additionally, Zhu’s name has been removed from both the CASS Institute of Economics’ list of top officials and the CIDEG academic committee’s online roster, claim the news report. The timing of these removals is unclear, but Zhu was appointed to the CIDEG committee in December 2022, with such appointments typically being open-ended, according to an individual with knowledge of the matter.
Some notable disappearances in China
Several high-profile individuals in China have vanished or faced severe consequences after speaking out against the government over the years. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is known to employ tactics like enforced disappearances, imprisonment, and intimidation to stifle dissent.
For instance, tennis player Peng Shuai disappeared for two weeks in 2021 after accusing a former senior CCP official of sexual assault, a case that drew international attention. Similarly, billionaire Xiao Jianhua was abducted from Hong Kong in 2017 after refusing to return to mainland China, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. He remains in custody without legal proceedings.
Amnesty International has reported other such incidents, including the disappearances of activists Huang Xueqin and Wang Jianbing in September 2021. Both were involved in the #MeToo movement and labour rights advocacy and were charged with “inciting subversion of state power.”
One of the most well-known cases is that of Alibaba founder Jack Ma, who vanished from public view in 2020 after criticising China’s regulatory crackdown on tech companies. In November 2020, Ma publicly challenged regulators who halted the IPO of his fintech company, Ant Group, which would have been the world’s largest. Ma resurfaced in Thailand in January 2023 and has since been spotted in various countries, including China, Japan, Spain, and Australia.