Photo: Zong Qinghou
Source: Nelson Ching/Bloomberg

Quotes from around China this week

"How could he have done it before even letting us know? That's not our organisation's spirit. Organisation is important for the Communist Party, right?"
Luo Guojun, the deputy editor-in-chief of Economic Information Daily, on a senior journalist decision to make allegations of corruption against the chairman of a powerful state-owned enterprise. South China Morning Post

"No one has asked foreign companies to be a moral model, but they have to serve as good examples."
Ministry of Public Security official Gao Feng on increased scrutiny of foreign companies in the wake of the GlaxoSmithKline bribery and misconduct allegations. Wall
Street Journal

"People will only invest if there is prospect of making a profit"
Zong Qinghou, Chinas richest man and chairman of food and beverage conglomerate Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co. (HWGZ), in an interview in Beijing yesterday. Bloomberg

"He will probably get a light sentence,"
Li Zhuang, a former Beijing-based lawyer who became well-known for his role in defending a client accused of gang activity in Chonging, talks about what might happen to the former party chief of Chongqing.
South China Morning Post

"I made cruel decisions when thousands of Alibaba's customers were involved in fraud, and when we adjusted Alipay's structure. As the CEO of a company, you have to do that. It's like Deng Xiaoping, the then top leader, had to make cruel decisions during the June 4 crackdown for the country's stability."
Alibaba founder and chairman Jack Ma on decisions made during his career. South China Morning Post

"You don't see numerous distressed properties in China because people give each other mianzi, or face. This is unlike the West, where people wait for projects to go bust and then swoop in."
Harvest Real Estate Investments chief executive Rong Ren on why his industry does not expect a spike in distressed properties, despite rising risks in overheated land markets. Wall Street Journal

"Everything was and still is far worse than people in the West suspect."
Anonymous government official of Tibetan descent, on China's treatment of that region's native population. Der Spiegel

"There is no clearly written law stipulating that convicts must meet with family members before being executed."
Changsha City Intermediate People's Court response, posted on Weibo, to public inquiries regarding the execution of Zeng Chengjie. The post was later deleted and replaced with an apology. South China Morning Post