Schematic diagram showing Li Ka-shing’s last day at work before his retirement on May 10, 2018. (Song Bilong/The Epoch Times)
[The Epoch Times, January 23, 2024](Epoch Times reporter Xiao Lusheng reported) Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, has sold off his assets in mainland China in recent years and then expanded overseas. The outside world believes that Li had the foresight. Independent commentator Cai Shenkun recently wrote an article saying that it was actually because Li Ka-shing wanted to meet Xi Jinping alone and waited for two weeks for no response, and then made the decision to withdraw from mainland China.
The Li Ka-shing family has continuously disposed of its assets in mainland China in recent years. For example, Watsons stores of its multinational retail group will be closed one after another in 2023; the Li Ka-shing Foundation reduced its holdings of 22.493 million H shares of the Postal Savings Bank of China, with a total amount of approximately HK$122 million (approximately US$16 million, 113 million yuan); the sale of the Shanghai office Shanghai Century Plaza in Jing’an District, etc.
On January 22, independent commentator Cai Shenkun wrote an article on the He believed that Li Ka-shing chose to evacuate because Xi Jinping, the leader of the Communist Party of China, refused to see him alone.
Cai Shenkun said that Xi Jinping met Li Ka-shing and Li Zeju alone when he was the vice president of the country. After taking over in 2013, he did not meet with the Hong Kong family consortium bosses as usual. It was not until September 22, 2014, that Xi Jinping met with a visiting delegation from Hong Kong’s business community headed by Tung Chee-hwa, including Li Ka-shing.
Cai Shenkun said that Li Ka-shing later wanted to meet Xi Jinping alone, and the report was handed over to the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, but there has been no reply. Li waited in Beijing for two full weeks and finally had to return home.
“Li Ka-shing returned to Hong Kong and immediately summoned core members to make the major decision to evacuate China, and asked him to keep a low profile and not reveal his voice.” Cai Shenkun said.
Later, on September 12, 2015, “Lookout Think Tank”, a subsidiary of Xinhua News Agency, published an article titled “Don’t let Li Ka-shing escape.” Only then did the outside world learn about Li Ka-shing’s large-scale divestment. Cai Shenkun said that in fact, by the time the article came out, almost all of Li Ka-shing’s projects and land had changed hands in a hurry.
Many comments at the time believed that the article exposed many secrets of Beijing’s top leaders, such as the fact that the wealth of real estate developers was obtained through collusion between government and businessmen, and the serious economic problems faced by the CCP.
Commentator Qi Xianyu wrote an article in New Era Weekly at the time that the article “Don’t let Li Ka-shing run away” actually said that Li Ka-shing made a fortune by leveraging the power of the Communist Party. Now that the Communist Party needs money, Li has run away, so he can be allowed to run away. ? Qi Xianyu said that this is a typical Communist Party logic. As long as you are involved in it, you will owe it, and the money you earn will be marked with the power of the CCP. Although the money is kept with you, the CCP wants to use it. When the time comes, you must obediently devote your hands.
Editor in charge: Li Yuanrui
2024-01-23 10:35:18
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