NECTAR.GAN@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Friday, 08 April, 2016, 4:13pm
Hu Dehua, youngest son of former general secretary of Communist Party of China Hu Yaobang, pictured in 2014 beside a photograph of his late father. File photo: Simon Song
The son of China’s late liberal leader Hu Yaobang is the first relative of the nation’s political elite named in the leaked “Panama Papers” documents to admit to having an offshore company.
Hu Dehua, the businessman son of the former Communist Party chief who was ousted in 1987 because of his liberal thinking, told the South China Morning Post on Friday that he had nothing to hide.
“When asked by the media, of course I should respond,” he said. “I think this is very straightforward and there is nothing to hide.”
Hu Dehua says he set up the offshore company in 2013. File photo: Simon Song
He confirmed to Hong Kong-based Cable TV and newspaper Ming Pao on Thursday that he had registered the British Virgin Island entity, Fortalent International Holdings.
Of course I should respond. I think this is very straightforward and there is nothing to hide
HU DEHUA
The use of offshore companies is a sensitive issue on the mainland because close relatives of Chinese leaders are implicated, and news of the leaked documents has been subject to blanket censorship there, both on the internet and in state media.
Family members of at least eight current and former Chinese top-ranking officials have been named in the Panama Papers as being the owners or shareholders of secretive offshore companies, including the brother-in-law of President Xi Jinping, the daughter of former premier Li Peng, as well as the daughter-in-law of current propaganda chief Liu Yunshan and the son-in-law of current vice-premier Zhang Gaoli.
However, Hu is the first and only relative of China’s political elite to comment on the issue so far.
“The registration was all above board using my own passport under my real name,” he said.
Hu told the Post he did not know why others had chosen not to respond.
“This is my style of doing things – a habit I’ve formed over all these the years,” he said. “But I can’t demand everyone to be like me,” he said.
The registering of offshore companies was “a right of Chinese citizens”, he said. “There is really no need to be secretive about it.”
Hu Dehua, the son of Hu Yaobang, poses for a photograph in 2014. File photo: Simon Song
Hu said his offshore company had been set up in 2003 to help his mainland-based company, Beijing Talent Technology Development, to go public in Hong Kong.
The listing attempt had failed, but he kept the offshore company, which had no capital or business operations over the years.
Chinese law does not ban its citizens from setting up offshore entities, and the leaked documents do not show evidence of any wrongdoing or illegal activities.
However, the disclosure does shed light on the wealth of the current and former leaders’ families.
Hu is a former teacher of communication technologies and a researcher in software engineering , and did not set up his own company until 1994, five years after his father died.
http://m.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1934671/i-have-nothing-hide-son-late-chinese-leader-hu-yaobang
