Y***i 发帖数: 1932 | 1 "Porsche Woman" soon became the most-searched phrase on Baidu, the Chinese
search engine, and variations of the hashtag #FemalePorscheDriver were
trending on Weibo, China's answer to Twitter, for four consecutive days.
Weibo discussions variously described the woman as a hot-tempered "Queen of
Racing" who picked multiple fights on the road, and as a jobless housewife
who lives in a $1.1 million villa and owns two Porsches. The meme of Li in
her signature hat and flashy sunglasses was all over social media timelines,
with many people asking: How can a local police chief finance such riches?
Li, who is 44, has been running construction and logistics businesses for
about 20 years, the paper reported. Still, her ability to buy luxury
vehicles with legitimate earnings was widely questioned online.
The red Porsche coupe was third-hand but still cost $90,000. Meanwhile, Tong
drives a BMW 525 that his wife bought in 2015 for $60,000, the state-run
China Daily reported.
In a statement Monday, police said Li had been held accountable for her bad
driving. She had 29 traffic offenses since she began to drive the vehicle in
March 2016 - including one for running red lights - although she had not
received any speeding tickets.
Li issued a statement of her own.
"I said a lot of irresponsible things due to my arrogance, vanity, and
temper," Li said in an apology letter Monday, according to Sixth Tone. "I
was a disgrace to the Chongqing people, and I feel truly guilty and
regretful."
That's not the end of it. Police authorities are now reviewing the couple's
assets and bank accounts.
Corruption has plagued China throughout its economic transformation over the
past 40 years, with officials often using putting ill-gotten assets in
family members' names
But Xi Jinping has cracked down on corruption since becoming China's leader
in 2012, jailing more than a million officials for various forms or graft
and prohibiting activities associated with palm-greasing, including golf. |
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