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Comment by zkirill | Hacker News Reader

I am a Canadian citizen who lives in British Columbia and is not Chinese or of Chinese descent. The fact that a Canadian citizen was "seized" is very concerning to me and I hope that our government gets on top of this swiftly.

I also don't see any facts on which you can base your corruption claim.

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>I also don't see any facts on which you can base your corruption claim.

"Some of his most successful deals involved buying stakes in midsize financial institutions in smaller Chinese cities, often through a complex web of shell or dummy corporations. When Citigroup and other investors agreed to buy a big stake in the Guangdong Development Bank, for instance, one of Mr. Xiao’s investment vehicles — Puhua Investment — took an 8 percent interest, and then just weeks later transferred it to another state financial institution. Few analysts or journalists knew he was involved.

While shell companies are widely used in China as investment vehicles, securities experts say they can also be employed to hide the ownership stakes of public officials, providing cover for favors distributed by businessmen. Their frequent use by Mr. Xiao has fanned speculation that he gets privileged access to deals involving state assets and that he shares the benefits with the families of the ruling elite."

[...]

"But a review of corporate registration records has found that on at least three occasions during the last five years, companies affiliated with Mr. Xiao have struck deals that appear to have benefited the relatives of China’s highest-ranking leaders."

from: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/04/world/asia/tiananmen-era-...

not conclusive, but he certainly walks like a duck

That kind of thing is pretty unremarkable behavior for the wealthy in China.

> I also don't see any facts on which you can base your corruption claim.

The Canadian government hides most everything from it's citizens, especially when it comes to China. Statistics on real estate transactions using money from overseas are considered none of our business. People operating illegal hotels out of houses while not paying taxes on revenue? Just fine. Egregious tax evasion? No problem. Buying citizenship, driver's licenses, etc? A-ok.

All of these things are happening, but none of them are considered "facts", and you certainly won't ever see any facts if the government refuses to enforce the law on certain subsets of the population.

You think that Canadians should essentially be immune from local enforcement while outside of Canada?

The parent comment implied no such thing, you invented that. Rather, they said it's concerning (which makes perfect sense), and that they hope the Canadian Govt gets on top of it swiftly (also makes perfect sense, the Canadian Govt should get involved asap, given it's one of their citizens).

To the Chinese government he is Chinese, period. This is their public stated policy. To be considered a foreigner you have to be born outside of China to non-Chinese parents and only hold foreign citizenship. This is the only case in which the Chinese government allows foreign consulates to become involved.

Yes, North Korea has a full-ownership policy too. I hear it's quite efficient.

If you're going to get snarky, then the US has it too... but only for taxation.

As a person who emigrated, I can say that aint a good thing.

Edit: OK, I'm fine with the very wealthy being charged an exit tax but the draconian tax laws seem to effect everyone EXCEPT the very wealthy. Like, if you cannot afford a lawyer to sort your shit out then you'll get fined BIG TIME but if you're a rich person, you don't pay any large percentage.

There's a difference between pursuing someone in court to make them pay taxes and kidnapping them to take them to a hostile regime and hold them indefinitely.

China acts as if it owns people of Chinese descent. Such as the Taiwanese. And they're more concerned with collecting them all rather than treating them well.

Hong Kong and Taiwan would flee China if they could. Many countries would run to be a US Protectorate. Totally different scenario. And it's essentially all because of personal freedoms, which start with not being property.

I think parent is making a good point. See, in corrupt/poor countries when someone becomes a billionare he does not get the benefit of doubt. The entire legal and executive systems are so rotten and shady that there is no legal way for someone to become that rich unless they play dirty regardless of their capabilities, luck, education or great ideas.

I'm not sure that any billionaire should get the benefit of the doubt. Sure, somebody like Bill Gates seems unobjectionable, but he's pretty far from the typical billionaire.

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