Ren Zhiqiang
Ren Zhiqiang | |||||||||||||||||
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任志强 | |||||||||||||||||
Ren Zhiqiang in 2012 | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | 8 May 1951 | ||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Chinese | ||||||||||||||||
| Other names | Big Cannon Ren (任大炮) | ||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Renmin University of China | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, blogger | ||||||||||||||||
| Known for | Former chairman of Huayuan Real Estate Group | ||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party (1974–2020, expelled) | ||||||||||||||||
| Criminal charge | Corruption | ||||||||||||||||
| Criminal penalty | 18 years imprisonment | ||||||||||||||||
| Parent | Ren Quansheng (father) | ||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 任志强 | ||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 任志強 | ||||||||||||||||
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Ren Zhiqiang (Chinese: 任志强; born 8 March 1951) is an incarcerated Chinese real estate tycoon. Nicknamed "Big Cannon Ren", he is known for his outspoken views on Sina Weibo, where he accumulated more than 37 million followers until it was deleted by the Chinese authorities in 2016. He disappeared on 12 March 2020 after criticizing CCP general secretary Xi Jinping as a "clown" over the handling of China's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2020, he was sentenced to eighteen years' imprisonment on corruption charges, after a one-day trial.