Chinese Tycoon with North Korean Connection Jailed for
18 Years
Yang Bin, known as the Orchid King in China, and builder
of the Dutch Village in northeast China, has been jailed
for 18 years.
Yang Bin, who is a Dutch citizen, has also played a key
role in China's prickly relationship with Kim Jong-il,
president of North Korea. In 2002, North Korea promised
China it would pursue a more market-driven economic policy
by first setting up a new economic zone on the area bordering
China. The new Sinuiju economic zone was to be headed
by Yang Bin at the request of Kim Jong-il. Kim had been
impressed by Yang Bin's success in property development
in Manchuria or northeast China, in the area bordering
North Korea. However, just before Yang Bin was to go to
North Korea, he was arrested by the Chinese government
for tax evasion and business improprieties. North Korea's
Kim Jong-il has not yet named a replacement to head the
Sinuiju economic zone.
Yang Bin has long had a reputation as one of China's
most flamboyant businessmen. He started his empire by
growing tulips in the northeast, then going into property
development. By 2001, he was listed as China's second
richest man with a fortune close to US$1 billion. His
company, Euro-Asia Agricultural (Holdings), is listed
on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Chinese government investigators claim that his company
used false receipts to get his company listed on the stock
market. Then, when his empire began to unravel, Yang Bin
made his bid to head up the Sinuiju economic zone in North
Korea.
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