Online accusation of graft stirs row
By Li Xinran |
March 16, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AN online post implying that officials were corrupt in the development of a high-end condominium project in Wenzhou City of east China's Zhejiang Province has provoked a sharp reaction from several leaders who denied the charge, with one vowing to take legal action against the "libel."
The post published on Saturday night on a bulletin board based in Wenzhou implied that 32 local officials were granted much lower prices in purchasing condos at one of the most expensive local communities in exchange for their aid to the developer, Youth Times reported on Monday.
The writer of the post, who kept anonymous, adopted pseudonyms in the story.
All the officials were identified by their surnames and departments, and the name of the high-end community adjacent to the city's wetland was replaced by characters with similar pronunciations.
However, most readers familiar with the situation could identify them immediately, the report said.
According to the writer, the information came from a senior executive of the developer.
The post revealed some "tacit rules" for real estate development. It said offering bribes is always necessary but is now a craft, as many officials began refusing cash.
The right practice is to sell houses to government leaders at low prices and let them profit by selling them at higher prices, it said.
Developers are allowed to keep 20 percent of houses they built, so they often picked the best condos for those officials, it added.
The community involved was the most populous in Wenzhou last year, neighboring Wenzhou's national wetland park. All the officials named by the writer were in charge of the wetland or Wenzhou's real estate business, according to the post.
A deputy general manager with the developer surnamed Ye denied different prices in their sales and said the 20 percent preserved houses were for company stake holders or close friends.
Meanwhile, some officials with same family names and positions as the post described denied their connections with the developer.
One among them even expressed the intent to file a lawsuit against the writer.
The post published on Saturday night on a bulletin board based in Wenzhou implied that 32 local officials were granted much lower prices in purchasing condos at one of the most expensive local communities in exchange for their aid to the developer, Youth Times reported on Monday.
The writer of the post, who kept anonymous, adopted pseudonyms in the story.
All the officials were identified by their surnames and departments, and the name of the high-end community adjacent to the city's wetland was replaced by characters with similar pronunciations.
However, most readers familiar with the situation could identify them immediately, the report said.
According to the writer, the information came from a senior executive of the developer.
The post revealed some "tacit rules" for real estate development. It said offering bribes is always necessary but is now a craft, as many officials began refusing cash.
The right practice is to sell houses to government leaders at low prices and let them profit by selling them at higher prices, it said.
Developers are allowed to keep 20 percent of houses they built, so they often picked the best condos for those officials, it added.
The community involved was the most populous in Wenzhou last year, neighboring Wenzhou's national wetland park. All the officials named by the writer were in charge of the wetland or Wenzhou's real estate business, according to the post.
A deputy general manager with the developer surnamed Ye denied different prices in their sales and said the 20 percent preserved houses were for company stake holders or close friends.
Meanwhile, some officials with same family names and positions as the post described denied their connections with the developer.
One among them even expressed the intent to file a lawsuit against the writer.
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