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A death sentence for a young Chinese businesswoman chills entrepreneurs

economist.com

21–30 of 72 posts

Re: A death sentence for a young Chinese businesswoman chills entrepreneurs

#21
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, we know which of the two publications has prepublication review of content by the Communist Party of China.

It raises a valid question: How to find reliable sources for stories such as this? Is it even possible, concerning the usual secrecy of similar processes?

Chinese forums, if you know where to look. But you have to learn to read Chinese, or find some one/way to translate.

Re: A death sentence for a young Chinese businesswoman chills entrepreneurs

#23
post #7
post #6

I don't know. 80% returns? Really? She was able to get 80% returns? GUARANTEED? This lady kind of sounds like a potential Madoff who got caught early. Yes, she may be totally innocent. That is one of many possibilities. Having mentioned that... man... 80%? guaranteed? Trading Futures? Maybe the punishment is a bit harsh, but it really does seem she was not totally on the up and up. And secondly, what kind of a person…

"A bit harsh" is a lot of an understatement. They're talking about killing her .

How is execution different than 150 years in prison, aside from the chance to be exonerated later? Madoff's life is just about as thoroughly destroyed as Wu's. They will both die in prison.

I dislike capital punishment for several reasons, in particular the greater potential to be applied falsely, but I do not feel that Madoff's sentence is substantially less harsh.

Re: A death sentence for a young Chinese businesswoman chills entrepreneurs

#24
post #17
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You make it sound like the Chinese source is not to be trusted, and you may be right. But this story shows that the Economist is just as trustworthy as any Chinese communist sources (i.e., not very trustworthy). The Chinese source states: "The money was used for Wu's personal consumption and in paying back the loans and operation costs of her company, said the court." Now this is a quote from the court which is somet…

"Nevertheless the Economist made it sound that she was only persecuted for accepting financing from unofficial sources, not that she was doing anything improper with the financing." I can't agree with that. I read only the Economist article before coming to the comments here, and I managed to figure out that she was being charged with active fraud. I figured it out from things like mentioning a promise of an 80% retu…

IIRC, financial fraud that makes the country (e.g., from its citizens/organizations) lose a lot of money is a capital offense in China. And also everything you own will be confiscated to pay back to the country.

(If you ignore the "China is Evil" bit for a minute) It kind of makes sense: you steal money from a country, maybe go to jail for a bit, leave the country, reunited with all your stolen money. Not so good.

Re: A death sentence for a young Chinese businesswoman chills entrepreneurs

#25
post #13
post #9

This Economist article paints a very different picture from the article below: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-12/18/content_920158... Businesswoman gets death sentence for defrauding investors out of tens of millions of dollars vs. Businesswoman gets death sentence for fundraising

Still, a death sentence?

The problem in China is that the expectation to get caught for any crime at all is very low. The population is huge and it's very easy to get away with tax evasion, financial frauds, etc. Since the expectation to get caught is low, they make up with very harsh sentences.

Re: A death sentence for a young Chinese businesswoman chills entrepreneurs

#27
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"A bit harsh" is a lot of an understatement. They're talking about killing her .

+1, Cmon how can you kill someone for raising money, regardless of its whereabouts or accompanied false promises... "A bit harsh", my god, get a grip

Maidoff was rising money as well. Here he spent life in prision; in China they kill. I wish they penalties in US would be harsher. Death is too extreme, but this is China, overpopulated, I never lived there havent been raised so have no idea how their brains work. But the truth is, if penalties in US would be harsher, you wouldnt have 30yrs old pot smoker going to jail for 5 years for 2 joints, while Vacovia washing $700mil of worth cocaine on plane to US and got "penalized" $300mil and nobody goes to jail. Same with real estate bubble. People committed suicides after loosing houses, while Goldman was giving $100mil in bonuses. Wild Wild West in 2011!

Re: A death sentence for a young Chinese businesswoman chills entrepreneurs

#28
post #15

Does this mean angel investing is illegal in China. I am not sure what "raising and pooling money outside the official system" really means.

Angel investing in US has the requirement of being Accredited Investors by law, so no you can't just angel investing willy nilly but follows the law (or "official system"). The comparable scale of punishment is another story; on the other hand a few people would wish Madoff was tried in a Chinese court for defaulting people.

Really? Is there anything similar in the UK? I don't believe there is - but I generally tend to believe there is less red tape around entrepreneurial activities in the US than the UK (we run businesses in both places).

Re: A death sentence for a young Chinese businesswoman chills entrepreneurs

#29
post #9

This Economist article paints a very different picture from the article below: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-12/18/content_920158... Businesswoman gets death sentence for defrauding investors out of tens of millions of dollars vs. Businesswoman gets death sentence for fundraising

If China had a justice system where trials were carried out in the open rather than in secret behind closed doors and a press blackout, then it would be easier for us to determine the truth...

Re: A death sentence for a young Chinese businesswoman chills entrepreneurs

#30
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"A bit harsh" is a lot of an understatement. They're talking about killing her .

How is execution different than 150 years in prison, aside from the chance to be exonerated later? Madoff's life is just about as thoroughly destroyed as Wu's. They will both die in prison. I dislike capital punishment for several reasons, in particular the greater potential to be applied falsely, but I do not feel that Madoff's sentence is substantially less harsh.

I think the convicted can answer this question better than I. They almost always prefer to keep living.
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