China Blogger Makes TV 'Prostitute Confession'
Well-known Chinese-American commentator Charles Xue was arrested following a crackdown on online activists.
5:13pm Thursday 29 August 2013 Charles Xue on sex charges
The businessman was shown in a pison jumpsuit on state TV
By Mark Stone & Victoria Wei in Beijing
A Chinese-American businessman and well-known social commentator has been paraded on Chinese State Television issuing an apparent confession for soliciting a prostitute.
Charles Xue, who is 60 and also known as Xue Manzi, was arrested on August 23 when police broke into a flat in Beijing. According to the Xinhua state news agency, he was found with a 22-year-old prostitute.
His arrest comes as Chinese authorities undertake a crackdown on outspoken online activism.
In footage looped on state TV, Mr Xue is seen in a prison jumpsuit. In an interview, he is heard confessing to his crime.
He claims that he "got into the hobby of prostitution after business trips to Thailand and Holland" and that he needed to fulfil his "particular desire and sexual preferences".
Xue, whose father was once the vice-mayor of Beijing, went to the United States in the early 1980s. He made his fame and fortune in the real estate market in America and was an active investor in China’s fast booming IT industry.
In recent years though, he has used his public image to gain a huge following on China’s version of Twitter. To an audience of more than 12 million followers, he frequently comments on social, economic and thinly veiled political issues.
His comments are often widely circulated among China’s active online community.
The Communist Party has been rounding up online activists, who have exposed perceived corruption, abuse of power and other inappropriate business among Chinese officials.
The government claims to be ‘purifying social media’, but many opponents argue that its simply strengthening its control over the internet and its ability to silence individuals who speak out against it.
Last week, Chinese police detained Guangzhou-based journalist Liu Hu and Qin Zhihui and Yang Xiuyu, the founders of a Beijing-based online public relations company. They were arrested on charges of creating and spreading rumours.
China’s state-run news agency Xinhua has said that the so-called ‘big Vs’ - online activists with large numbers of followers - should ‘hear the alarm of the law’.
An editorial in the state-run Global Times newspaper has rejected any suggestion that his arrest is connected to his influence online.
“It is meaningless to suspect that Chinese authorities might be using this case to crack down on Xue’s massive influence on public opinion. Xue’s active participation and deep involvement in China’s politics on the internet has made him highly influential. But this means he has to bear special pressure and scrutiny over his personal conduct.” it said.
The US embassy in Beijing is aware of Mr Xue’s arrest but has not returned requests from Sky News for further information.
