Ye Jianming | Oil tycoon detained for questioning

A Chinese oil tycoon who is buying a stake in Russia’s biggest oil producer has been detained for questioning, news reports said yesterday, amid a sprawling anti-corruption crackdown. The business news magazine Caixin, citing unidentified sources, reported that Ye Jianming, chairman of CEFC China Energy, was under investigation but gave no details. He was detained Feb. 16 on the orders of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Phone calls to CEFC’s general and publicity offices in Shanghai weren’t answered. The company didn’t respond to questions sent to the email address of its publicity department. Ye, 40, adds to a growing number of Chinese businesspeople who have been detained or questioned during a marathon anti-graft crackdown led by Xi.

Gulchehra Hoja | US-based Uighur journalist says Beijing arrested 20 relatives

A U.S.-based Uighur journalist is accusing the Chinese authorities of seizing about 20 of her relatives in Xinjiang, apparently to pressure her to cease her critical reporting about the turbulent northwestern region. Gulchehra Hoja, who has worked for U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia in Washington for 17 years, said on Facebook that her mother, father, brother and other relatives were imprisoned because of her work as a reporter. Amnesty International said yesterday at least eight of Hoja’s cousins are being held due to their relation to the journalist. Hoja’s decision to take her allegation public is a rare move at a time when many overseas Uighurs fear speaking openly or using their real names in discussing the situation in Xinjiang.