Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 21, 1995 TAG: 9502210065
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BEIJING LENGTH: Medium
Hong Kong newspapers and analysts say that because of Zhou's close ties to China's paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, his arrest could indicate a struggle over who will rule China after Deng's death.
``The timing of Mr. Zhou's arrest has aroused suspicions of post-Deng political purges,'' the South China Morning Post editorialized.
The affair is part of what appears to be an intensifying campaign against corruption in China. But its impact on the business climate in Hong Kong, which reverts to Chinese rule in 1997, was evident Monday when five China-related companies suspended trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under pressure.
The companies, controlled by Chinese state-owned Capital Iron and Steel Corp., issued a statement saying the Chinese authorities' investigation had no bearing on their business.
Zhou, head of Shougang Concord Enterprise International Co., the Chinese steel group's key company listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, was arrested in Beijing, authorities announced last week.
The companies issued a joint statement saying the investigation was Zhou's ``personal matter.'' It said Zhou would be replaced.
Zhou and his father, also a former company executive, are known to have close ties to Deng, 90, who has not been seen in public for more than a year but retains great influence.
``That a company so publicly connected to Deng was so directly attacked - these must be construed as suggesting that something much deeper is going on,'' said Nial Gooding, director of securities at Kleinwort Benson (HK) Ltd.
by CNB