Jailed Chinese businessman’s daughter asks Xi Jinping to release her father

Washington — The daughter of imprisoned Chinese real estate tycoon Ren Zhiqiang has issued a public appeal to China’s leader, Xi Jinping, asking him to allow her father to seek medical care he needs after his health reportedly deteriorated during his time in jail.

Ren, 73, is a former member of the Chinese Communist Party and chairman of the state-owned Huayuan real estate group. He was jailed after publishing an essay online in March 2020 that criticized the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an open letter posted on the social media platform WeChat on October 2, Ren Xinyi appealed to the president’s “humanitarian principles,” requesting that Xi release her father so that he may access treatment for his failing health and spend the last part of his life with his family.

Ren Xinyi described her father as a dangerously ill, old man at risk of dying in jail. She wrote that he had long been suffering from a prostate ailment and was prescribed surgical treatment before his imprisonment. Despite previous requests that her father be allowed to undergo surgery, Ren has not yet been permitted the care his family seeks.

"I am willing to promise that my father will never make any public remarks or content after he goes abroad for treatment. He is over 70 years old and seriously ill. He has no ability to cause trouble to you and the country," Ren Xinyi told Xi in the letter.

Before his incarceration and in his prime, the former businessman was nicknamed “Cannon Ren,” a name he gained for how frequently, and publicly, he called party policy into question. But for his release, Ren’s daughter writes that her father won’t go back to his old ways.

In a translated version of the essay that prompted his arrest, Ren wrote: “The reality shown by this epidemic is that the party defends its own interests, the government officials defend their own interests, and the monarch only defends the status and interests of the core.”

The businessman also called for freedom of speech so that citizens could better protect themselves through open discourse.

In a secretive trial, Ren was sentenced to 18 years in jail on counts of corruption, bribery and embezzlement of public funds. He was also fined about $600,000.

His daughter’s letter was initially published to a WeChat group that included friends of Ren. One of the group’s members, political commentator and U.S. resident Cai Shenkun, confirmed to VOA that pictures released of the letter were genuine.

"In the past few years, some friends and people from all walks of life have tried to help Ren, because after all, Ren was a bold and outspoken person in the past," said Cai.

Anna Wang, founder of Photon Media and a former business owner in China, also confirmed the authenticity of the letter with several friends in Beijing familiar with Ren Zhiqiang.

“This letter is very powerful, and it’s also a call to action,” Wang said. “I think this daughter is also very brave.”

“In China, if you want to live a life of despicable behavior, you can live well,” she continued. “But if you want to engage in any activities that promote national progress and democracy, it will come at a painful and huge price.”

In a final plea for Xi’s kindness, the letter concluded, "President Xi Jinping, we have previously raised the above request several times through normal channels but have never received a good response. We have no choice but to use this method to reflect our desperate request to you."

The Chinese government has not publicly commented on the open petition from Ren's daughter.

When asked by VOA to comment on the letter, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington D.C. said: “the Chinese government protects the lawful rights of every citizen in accordance with the law.”