Wu Lei: Behind the Suicides of Private Entrepreneurs
In April-July this year, four well-known entrepreneurs, Bi Guangjun, Liu Wenchao, Zeng Yuzhou, and Wang Linpeng, died unnaturally one after another. From January to July this year, at least 19 actual controllers, chairmen, or senior executives of listed companies have been investigated by procuratorial organs with "retention" measures. Among them is Wang Linpeng, chairman of Easyhome (formerly Beijing Easyhome) who just passed away - he was detained three times, and only four days after his last detention was lifted, he suddenly fell to his death. Looking back at the past 5 years, from the Ren Zhiqiang case, the Sun Dawu case, the so-called crackdown on organized crime, to the long-distance fishing targeting entrepreneurs, to today's entrepreneur bankruptcies, debts, detentions, imprisonments, and suicides, the survival environment of private entrepreneurs continues to deteriorate. This episode's guest, Wu Lei, is a well-known Chinese criminal defense lawyer who has defended many entrepreneurs' cases. In 2019, he was retaliated against by the government and had his lawyer's license revoked, but he has been working behind the scenes to protect the rights of private entrepreneurs. In Wu Lei's career experience, what have Chinese private entrepreneurs experienced in recent years? In addition to the crackdown on organized crime and long-distance fishing, what other unknown case-handling models are there? How does he view the experiences of these entrepreneurs? Why does he say entrepreneurs are "naive and childish"? Wu Lei talked about many unreported cases. As a lawyer, in a situation where the rule of law is destroyed and the parties and their families are threatened, why does Wu Lei still insist that judicial defense is important? In an environment where political will outweighs legal will, what else can entrepreneurs do? PS: The 2nd "Don't Understand" Festival is coming! On September 6th, listeners are welcome to come to Washington, D.C. We will spend a day reviewing the road we have traveled, reflecting on the reality we are in, and imagining the possibilities of the future through documentary screenings, crosstalk performances, and live conversations. Click the link to register now: [https://zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2025-in-person](https://zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2025-in-person) **Timeline**: 00:00 A series of entrepreneur suicides and detentions 02:19 Wu Lei's career experience, "not surprised by all this" 04:23 What is retention? "Both 'Shuanggui' and retention have been abused" 07:10 The environment of the retention center, "comparable to a black jail" 10:54 How to view the "original sin" problem of entrepreneurs 14:35 Timeline of the deteriorating survival environment for private entrepreneurs 16:54 The relationship between the crackdown on organized crime and the crackdown on entrepreneurs 19:17 The Sun Dawu case as a turning point: the exodus of entrepreneurs, or leaning towards the central government 24:35 The "naivety and childishness" of entrepreneurs: the desire to serve the country through industry and ignorance of real risks 29:17 The "fishing" wave of young entrepreneurs: start-ups become fiscal prey. 31:56 Case-handling models Wu Lei has seen in his legal career: forcing entrepreneurs to fabricate bribery facts 37:35 Are entrepreneurs in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou more at ease? 42:10 How to understand the attitude of entrepreneurs' families towards lawyers? 45:16 Under judicial injustice, the market for brave and serious lawyers is growing 47:27 Should wrongful convictions be made public? The game of bribery vs. defense 52:38 Wu Lei's recommendations **Cases and people mentioned in this podcast**: Sun Dawu case: [https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AD%99%E5%A4%A7%E5%8D%88](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AD%99%E5%A4%A7%E5%8D%88) Entrepreneur Ren Zhiqiang: [https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BB%BB%E5%BF%97%E5%BC%BA](https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BB%BB%E5%BF%97%E5%BC%BA) Zhang Dewu case of Xiangda Group: [https://china.caixin.com/2023-01-04/101985224.html](https://china.caixin.com/2023-01-04/101985224.html) Real Kung Fu Cai Dabiao case: [https://other.caixin.com/2013-12-13/100617471.html](https://other.caixin.com/2013-12-13/100617471.html) The gang-related case involving Wu Lei's client Lin Feng: [https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/zhuanlan/201811/t20181101_397244.shtml](https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/zhuanlan/201811/t20181101_397244.shtml) Lawyer Wang Quanzhang: [https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8E%8B%E5%85%A8%E7%92%8B](https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8E%8B%E5%85%A8%E7%92%8B) Hosted on Acast. See [acast.com/privacy](https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
Original title: 伍雷:民营企业家接连自杀背后
Original description: <p>今年4月-7月,毕光钧、刘文超、曾育周、汪林朋四位知名企业家接连非自然死亡。今年1-7月,已有至少19位上市公司的实际控制人、董事长或高管被检察机关以“留置”措施调查。其中就包括刚刚去世的居然…