Duan Weihong (; pinyin: Duàn Wěihóng; b. December 29, 1966), also known as Whitney Duan, is a Chinese billionaire who is currently missing and believed to be held captive by Chinese government investigators on

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

charges. Prior to her arrest at Beijing’s Bulgari Hotel she owned, she was subject to a travel ban by the Chinese government. According to a 2018 report from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Duan was detained in 2017, possibly in relation to an anti-corruption investigation into Sun Zhengcai, but there has been no official acknowledgement from the Chinese government. Duan, who was reported to be one of China’s wealthiest women, was known for her business dealings with former Chinese premier

Wen Jiabao Wen Jiabao (born 15 September 1942) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the Premier of the State Council from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy ...

and particularly his wife,

Zhang Peili Zhang Peili (; born 1941) is a Chinese geologist and the wife of former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Biography Zhang was formerly the vice-president of the Chinese Jewelry Association, and president and CEO of Beijing Diamond Jewelries Co., a co ...

. In a memoir written by her ex-husband

Desmond Shum Desmond Shum (）is the author of '' Red Roulette: An Insider’s Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption and Vengeance in Today’s China'' and is the former husband of arrested Chinese billionaire Duan Weihong. Shum was born in Shanghai, spent his ...

titled ''

Red Roulette ''Red Roulette: An Insider’s Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption, and Vengeance in Today’s China'' is a 2021 memoir by Desmond Shum ( ghost-written by John Pomfret). James Palmer of ''Foreign Policy'' wrote that the work serves as "one of th ...

'', Duan is said to have fallen victim to the party’s use of "extralegal kidnappings" to facilitate opaque investigations. However in the book Shum states that arresting and holding suspected high-level criminals for unlimited time is legal in China; this especially applies to

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

members suspected of corruption by party investigators. In an interview with

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, Shum stated that he had received a call from Duan urging him not to publish his book, a request that he said was made under duress.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duan, Weihong 1968 births 2010s missing person cases 21st-century Chinese businesswomen 21st-century Chinese businesspeople Chinese billionaires Chinese prisoners and detainees Enforced disappearances in China Female billionaires Living people Missing people Missing person cases in China

See also

References