A Chinese billionaire with connections to top Beijing leaders has been abducted from the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong by Chinese public security agents and taken to mainland China, according to two people familiar with the investigation.
Xiao Jianhua, a financier with links to the family of Xi Jinping, China’s president, was one of several mainland businessmen who resided at the luxury hotel’s serviced apartment block in Hong Kong in recent years as Mr Xi’s corruption crackdown ensnared a growing number of tycoons.
They hoped they were beyond the reach of China’s feared public security forces because Hong Kong is a semi-autonomous territory that has its own police and legal system. Chinese law enforcement agencies are not allowed to operate in Hong Kong, according to the former British colony’s mini-constitution.