Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Xiao Jianhua: Canadian officials barred from tycoon's China trial

Xiao Jianhua: Canadian officials barred from tycoon's China trial

Canadian officials say they have been barred from the trial of billionaire Xiao Jianhua by Chinese authorities.

The Chinese-Canadian tycoon's trial was said to have started on Monday, five years after he disappeared from a luxury Hong Kong hotel.

His case remains shrouded in secrecy, and the authorities have not specified what charges he faces.

Chinese officials have yet to comment publicly on the trial, or say where it is taking place.

On Tuesday Canada's embassy in China said their consular officials had made "several requests" to attend the trial proceedings, in a statement to the BBC.

"Our attendance was denied by Chinese authorities."

The statement added embassy officials were "monitoring this case closely", and would "continue to press for consular access".

The trial was due to begin on Monday, the embassy said earlier.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday he had "reached out to relevant departments" when asked about the trial during a daily press briefing, but said he was still "waiting for their response."


What happened to Xiao Jianhua?


In 2017, Mr Xiao was whisked away from the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong, where he was understood to have been living at the time.

His family filed a missing person's report with Hong Kong authorities after he disappeared, but withdrew it a day later, saying they had "regained contact" with Mr Xiao.

Hong Kong police said surveillance footage at the scene showed Mr Xiao did not leave the hotel under duress, but refused to release the footage.

Mr Xiao later issued a statement that was run on the front page of a popular newspaper saying he was receiving medical treatment abroad. He also praised the "rule of law" in China and said that he had not been kidnapped and taken to the Chinese mainland.

His company also released statements on his behalf saying he was fine, though these were later removed.

The incident sent shockwaves through Hong Kong at the time. It raised many questions about Beijing's reach and deepened fears that residents could be forcibly taken by Chinese agents to face trial on the mainland.

Those fears would later spark some of the largest protests Hong Kong had ever seen in 2019, after authorities attempted to introduce a bill that would allow these extraditions to take place.

His disappearance took place at a time when China was cracking down on conglomerates.

Since then regulators have seized nine enterprises linked to Mr Xiao's investment firm Tomorrow Holdings, which had arms in the finance, insurance, real estate and coal industries.

Mr Xiao had also owned non-controlling stakes in banking and insurance companies, and was known to have built strong connections with families of Communist leaders after he sided with the party against student protests in Beijing in 1989.

By 2016, his net worth had grown to an estimated $6bn (£4.7bn) according to Hurun Report, a ranking of China's wealthiest people.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×