Chinese-Canadian tycoon faces trial without consular access, embassy says
The Canadian Embassy said consular officials are monitoring Xiao’s case closely and providing consular services to his family, though it did not confirm the trial date.
“Canada made several requests to attend the trial proceedings of Canadian citizen, Mr. Xiao Jianhua. Our attendance was denied by Chinese authorities,” the embassy said.
Citing the embassy, Reuters previously reported Xiao’s trial was due to begin on Monday.
Xiao’s extrajudicial abduction came amid a broader crackdown on corruption launched by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which has snared a slew of senior officials and executives at big Chinese companies.
Since then, Xiao has not been seen in public. Chinese authorities have not disclosed the charges against him or any other details of his case.
Xiao was one of China’s richest men and controlled the Tomorrow Group, a massive holding company with stakes in banks, insurers and property developers.
According to Hurun, which analyzes Chinese wealth, Xiao had a net worth of $6 billion and ranked 32nd on its 2016 rich list, a league table equivalent to the Forbes list.
In February 2017, a person familiar with the abduction told CNN there was a small scuffle at the Hong Kong Four Seasons hotel between two dozen Chinese security officials and Xiao’s own security detail, which typically numbered about eight bodyguards per shift. The source asked to remain anonymous because of the politically sensitive nature of the case. Xiao has not been seen in public since the incident.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said he was unaware of the situation when asked about Xiao’s trial at a news conference on Monday.
Who is Xiao Jianhua?
Xiao’s disappearance sent shockwaves through Hong Kong’s elite business community, where it was widely interpreted as a signal the city was no longer beyond the reach of the mainland’s security apparatus.
It also stoked wider fears concerning the erosion of the city’s freedoms, as guaranteed under the “one country, two systems” policy agreed to as part of Britain’s 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China.
The law criminalizes secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign powers, and carries with it a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Critics say the law has been used to silence all dissent against the Hong Kong government, which has repeatedly defended the legislation, saying it returned the city to stability.
CNN’s Steven Jiang and Katie Hunt contributed to this story.
