Xiao Jianhua, one of China's richest people, was sentenced by a Shanghai court on Friday (August 19) to 13 years in prison. The court also fined his Tomorrow Holdings company $8.1 billion. This comes more than five years after the billionaire was reportedly abducted from a hotel room in Hong Kong and taken to China.&nbsp;

Jianhua, who is a Canadian citizen, has not been seen in public since 2017.

The Shanghai First Intermediate Court said that Jianhua and his company are convicted of crimes involving illegally siphoning away public deposits, betraying the use of the entrusted property and the illegal use of funds and bribery.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/report-china-test-fires-missile-in-xinjiang-brings-down-plane-in-drill-508430">Report: China test-fires missile in Xinjiang, brings down plane in drill</a>&nbsp;

The court added that both had admitted (pleaded guilty) to their crimes, that's why the punishment was mitigated. As per the statement, they even cooperated in recovering the illegal gains and in restoring losses.

Initially, there had been no official word about Xiao,&nbsp;but Ottawa in July confirmed that he was facing trial.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/report-china-test-fires-missile-in-xinjiang-brings-down-plane-in-drill-508430">Shoe with foot found floating in hot spring of Yellowstone national park</a>&nbsp;

The court said that the firm's actions "have seriously disrupted the financial management order, seriously endangered the country's financial security."&nbsp;

Diplomats of the Canadian embassy had said in July that they were denied access to the trial. On Friday, China's foreign ministry insisted that because Beijing does not recognise dual citizenship, Xiao "does not enjoy the right to consular protection from other countries".&nbsp;

"Xiao has Chinese citizenship. China holds trials for criminal activity by its citizens in accordance with the law," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a briefing.&nbsp;

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" loading="”lazy”" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe>

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us <a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here</a>.

Xiao Jianhua, one of China's richest people, was sentenced by a Shanghai court on Friday (August 19) to 13 years in prison. The court also fined his Tomorrow Holdings company $8.

Xiao Jianhua, one of China's richest people, was sentenced by a Shanghai court on Friday (August 19) to 13 years in prison. The court also fined his Tomorrow Holdings company $8.1 billion. This comes more than five years after the billionaire was reportedly abducted from a hotel room in Hong Kong and taken to China. Jianhua, who is a Canadian citizen, has not been seen in public since 2017. The Shanghai First Intermediate Court said that Jianhua and his company are convicted of crimes involving illegally siphoning away public deposits, betraying the use of the entrusted property and the illegal use of funds and bribery. ALSO READ | Report: China test-fires missile in Xinjiang, brings down plane in drill The court added that both had admitted (pleaded guilty) to their crimes, that's why the punishment was mitigated. As per the statement, they even cooperated in recovering the illegal gains and in restoring losses. Initially, there had been no official word about Xiao, but Ottawa in July confirmed that he was facing trial. ALSO READ | Shoe with foot found floating in hot spring of Yellowstone national park The court said that the firm's actions "have seriously disrupted the financial management order, seriously endangered the country's financial security." Diplomats of the Canadian embassy had said in July that they were denied access to the trial. On Friday, China's foreign ministry insisted that because Beijing does not recognise dual citizenship, Xiao "does not enjoy the right to consular protection from other countries". "Xiao has Chinese citizenship. China holds trials for criminal activity by its citizens in accordance with the law," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a briefing. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

China sentences tycoon Xiao Jianhua to 13 years in jail, fines his company $8.1 billion

Sun Dawu, an outspoken rural businessman who has been a thorn in the side of China’s ruling Communist Party, has been formally arrested on a number of charges, months after being taken into detention.

Sun, who has been held in the northern province of Hebei since November, faces charges of illegal fundraising and obstructing public service, among other offenses. He was formally arrested Wednesday, according to an arrest notice provided Saturday by one of his lawyers.

The arrest of Sun — a vocal critic of the Communist Party’s top leader, Xi Jinping, and his crackdown on civil society — comes amid broader efforts by Xi to muzzle business leaders and bring China’s private sector to heel.

Beijing has punished a number of high-profile tycoons recently. Ren Zhiqiang, a retired real estate mogul who had called Xi a clown, was given an 18-year prison sentence last year. After Jack Ma, China’s most famous business leader, criticized Chinese regulators in October, his e-commerce empire Alibaba and financial technology giant Ant Group became targets, and Ma has since kept an uncharacteristically low profile.

Authorities have said little about Sun’s alleged offenses. He and 24 other people were detained in November amid a land dispute between his company and a state-owned farm. At the time, police said only that Sun, 66, and others were being held on suspicion of “provocation, disrupting production and operation and other illegal crimes.”

Authorities in Gaobeidian, the city in Hebei where Sun is being held in a detention center, did not respond to a request for comment.

Sun, a veteran of the People’s Liberation Army, worked at China’s state-owned Agricultural Bank of China before starting his own business, called Dawu Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Group, which now employs thousands of people.

Sun also provided venues for conferences held by liberal and reform-minded groups. He maintained friendships with dissidents long after they became politically toxic. When human rights lawyers were arrested, he offered to pay for their defense.

Nobel Peace laureate and human rights advocate Liu Xiaobo, who died in detention in 2017, once said that Sun posed a “tremendous challenge for the current system” because he had both courage and the resources to push for change.

“The government,” Liu wrote, “will definitely go after him with murky laws.”

Sun Dawu, an outspoken rural businessman who has been a thorn in the side of China’s ruling Communist Party, has been formally arrested on a number of charges, months after being taken into detention.

Sun Dawu, an outspoken rural businessman who has been a thorn in the side of China’s ruling Communist Party, has been formally arrested on a number of charges, months after being taken into detention. Sun, who has been held in the northern province of Hebei since November, faces charges of illegal fundraising and obstructing public service, among other offenses. He was formally arrested Wednesday, according to an arrest notice provided Saturday by one of his lawyers. The arrest of Sun — a vocal critic of the Communist Party’s top leader, Xi Jinping, and his crackdown on civil society — comes amid broader efforts by Xi to muzzle business leaders and bring China’s private sector to heel. Beijing has punished a number of high-profile tycoons recently. Ren Zhiqiang, a retired real estate mogul who had called Xi a clown, was given an 18-year prison sentence last year. After Jack Ma, China’s most famous business leader, criticized Chinese regulators in October, his e-commerce empire Alibaba and financial technology giant Ant Group became targets, and Ma has since kept an uncharacteristically low profile. Authorities have said little about Sun’s alleged offenses. He and 24 other people were detained in November amid a land dispute between his company and a state-owned farm. At the time, police said only that Sun, 66, and others were being held on suspicion of “provocation, disrupting production and operation and other illegal crimes.” Authorities in Gaobeidian, the city in Hebei where Sun is being held in a detention center, did not respond to a request for comment. Sun, a veteran of the People’s Liberation Army, worked at China’s state-owned Agricultural Bank of China before starting his own business, called Dawu Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Group, which now employs thousands of people. Sun also provided venues for conferences held by liberal and reform-minded groups. He maintained friendships with dissidents long after they became politically toxic. When human rights lawyers were arrested, he offered to pay for their defense. Nobel Peace laureate and human rights advocate Liu Xiaobo, who died in detention in 2017, once said that Sun posed a “tremendous challenge for the current system” because he had both courage and the resources to push for change. “The government,” Liu wrote, “will definitely go after him with murky laws.”

China reveals charges against outspoken businessman Sun Dawu

A Chinese man has been ordered to pay his ex-wife almost $8,000 for years of unpaid housework, in a landmark divorce case that has sparked furious debate in China.

Under the country's new civil code, which came into effect this year, divorcing spouses have the right for the first time to request compensation if they bore more responsibilities at home.

Ex-wife Wang told the Beijing court that during five years of marriage she "looked after the child and managed household chores, while (her husband) Chen did not care about or participate in any other household affairs besides going to work".

She filed a claim for extra compensation for housework and childcare duties, according to a February 4 court statement.

The court ruled that Wang had indeed taken on more household responsibilities and should receive 50,000 yuan ($7,700) plus sole child custody and an additional 2,000 yuan in alimony per month.

But after local media reported this week that Wang had appealed -- having originally requested 160,000 yuan compensation -- the ruling sparked widespread online debate over the value of women's unpaid domestic labour.

The trending hashtag "stay-at-home wife receives 50,000 yuan housework compensation" gained over 570 million views on the Twitter-like platform Weibo by Wednesday.

"Women should never be stay-at-home wives... when you divorce, you are left with nothing whatsoever. 50,000 yuan in housework compensation is bullshit," read one comment.

"A full-time nanny could cost more than this for half a year, are women's youth and feelings this cheap?" read another.

The amount reflected the length of time the couple was married plus "the effort Wang put into housework, Chen's income and the local cost of living," according to one of the judges, quoted Monday in local media.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has estimated that Chinese women spend nearly four hours doing unpaid labour daily -- 2.5 times that of men and higher than the average.

Marriage breakups have surged over the last two decades in China as divorce laws were liberalised and women became more financially independent -- to the concern of Beijing, which is trying to boost birth rates in an ageing population.

A Chinese man has been ordered to pay his ex-wife almost $8,000 for years of unpaid housework, in a landmark divorce case that has sparked furious debate in China.

A Chinese man has been ordered to pay his ex-wife almost $8,000 for years of unpaid housework, in a landmark divorce case that has sparked furious debate in China. Under the country's new civil code, which came into effect this year, divorcing spouses have the right for the first time to request compensation if they bore more responsibilities at home. Ex-wife Wang told the Beijing court that during five years of marriage she "looked after the child and managed household chores, while (her husband) Chen did not care about or participate in any other household affairs besides going to work". She filed a claim for extra compensation for housework and childcare duties, according to a February 4 court statement. The court ruled that Wang had indeed taken on more household responsibilities and should receive 50,000 yuan ($7,700) plus sole child custody and an additional 2,000 yuan in alimony per month. But after local media reported this week that Wang had appealed -- having originally requested 160,000 yuan compensation -- the ruling sparked widespread online debate over the value of women's unpaid domestic labour. The trending hashtag "stay-at-home wife receives 50,000 yuan housework compensation" gained over 570 million views on the Twitter-like platform Weibo by Wednesday. "Women should never be stay-at-home wives... when you divorce, you are left with nothing whatsoever. 50,000 yuan in housework compensation is bullshit," read one comment. "A full-time nanny could cost more than this for half a year, are women's youth and feelings this cheap?" read another. The amount reflected the length of time the couple was married plus "the effort Wang put into housework, Chen's income and the local cost of living," according to one of the judges, quoted Monday in local media. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has estimated that Chinese women spend nearly four hours doing unpaid labour daily -- 2.5 times that of men and higher than the average. Marriage breakups have surged over the last two decades in China as divorce laws were liberalised and women became more financially independent -- to the concern of Beijing, which is trying to boost birth rates in an ageing population.

Chinese court orders man to pay ex-wife for housework in landmark divorce ruling

Chinese officials, who have described the 12 as separatists, said the remaining two are minors and would have a separate hearing.

China: Trials begin for 10 of the ‘Hong Kong 12’ detained at sea

The group included two teenage activists, aged 16 and 17, who will not be charged and will be sent back to Hong Kong.

China jails 10 Hong Kong activists over border crossing

china-court

China Court, News on China Court, stories on China Court, articles on China Court, China Court stories at Wion, China Court news, China Court latest news

china court

China sentences tycoon Xiao Jianhua to 13 years in jail, fines his company $8.1 billion

China reveals charges against outspoken businessman Sun Dawu

Chinese court orders man to pay ex-wife for housework in landmark divorce ruling

China: Trials begin for 10 of the ‘Hong Kong 12’ detained at sea

China jails 10 Hong Kong activists over border crossing