"Analects" blog @ The Economist, June 30 ,2012

IN RECENT years China’s leaders have become increasingly concerned that the public’s awareness of the growing wealth gap could lead to social instability [....]

So one can only imagine the consternation caused by yesterday’s sensational exposé by Bloomberg, which details the financial assets belonging to the family of China’s president-in-waiting, Xi Jinping. Bloomberg was careful to note that no part of their investigation directly implicated Mr Xi, his wife, herself a famous PLA officer-cum-singer, Peng Liyuan, or their daughter, who is reportedly studying at Harvard University under an assumed name. The Bloomberg report suggests that other close relatives of Mr Xi have been blessed with abundant good fortune, to put it mildly. The article ties Mr Xi’s sister Qi Qiaoqiao, her husband Deng Jigui, and another brother-in-law, Wu Long, to assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars, or even billions. Their holdings are reported to include stakes in real estate and telecommunications, as well as the sensitive business of producing rare-earth minerals.

The government’s response to the Bloomberg report was predictable. Both the Bloomberg and Businessweek websites are currently inaccessible inside China’s “great firewall”. Although access to Bloomberg Professional, an essential tool for businesses and China’s financial elite, so far remains unaffected [....]