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Stratfor:
People’s Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan has not defected from China to the United States, authoritative sources have informed STRATFOR. The Washington Post has also spoken with unnamed officials who said there was no indication that Zhou had defected, that he was not in U.S. custody and that the rumors on Chinese internet discussion forums should be ignored. These denials appear to disprove the rumors on whether Zhou has defected to the United States. The rumors have proliferated rapidly across China since a report was falsely attributed to Hong Kong’s Ming Pao newspaper on Aug 28.
Zhou is not the only top-level Chinese economic leader to be grazed by widespread rumors of a fall from power — Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and China Banking Regulatory Commission chief Liu Mingkang have also been the subjects of similar claims earlier this year. Zhou has also previously been targeted in corruption investigations and has been the subject of criticism relating to his political affiliations. The rumors about Zhou were especially interesting because of the specificity of the suggestion that he had defected. Meanwhile, the part of the rumor holding him accountable for a supposed $430 billion loss in Chinese investments related to U.S. Treasury debt appeared fanciful from the beginning, at least without more context as to what the sum was supposed to represent.
Rumors about the standing of various Chinese officials are likely to continue in the future and proliferate widely and rapidly across China’s vast pool of internet users. This is due to the uncertainties and potential disturbances relating to the mixture of increasing economic challenges, fierce debates about appropriate policy responses and China’s future path, and the upcoming leadership transition in 2012, in which the fifth generation of Chinese leaders will take power.
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