The prime minister is caught up in a political scandal that has tarnished his image following a report by the New York Times that reveals his family's huge fortune. However, a fierce power struggle before the upcoming party congress appears to be the reason for the leak. Party elders, who have always disliked Wen, want his "explanations" (and perhaps his head).

Beijing (AsiaNews) - A few days from the Communist Party congress that will elect the fifth generation of Chinese leaders, outgoing Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has launched a counterattack, demanding a formal inquiry into the leak that led The New York Times to publish a scoop about his family's huge fortune. Some analysts attribute it to anti-Wen factions in the party trying to assert their power before the congress.

On 25 October, the US newspaper published a detailed account of the wealth accumulated by the prime minister's family, some US$ 2.7 billion. Although Chinese censors blocked the website right away, this has not stopped the news from spreading in China via the net.

In addition to the legal issue (party members cannot own shares or have interests in private or public companies), the report has tarnished Wen's image. The prime minister had in fact built his political career on his background as the offspring of a poor and humble family.

His unwelcomed rag-to-riches story is not however the first of its kind. Bloomberg recently revealed that the family of China's next president and party secretary, Xi Jinping, is worth a billion US dollars.

In recent days, Wen's lawyers forced The New York Times to retract some of its claims based on international law. However, Wen believes that he is the victim of enemies inside the party who betrayed him.

In a letter to the Politburo Standing Committee, the party's top nine-member decision-making body of which the premier is also a member, Wen asked for a formal inquiry into claims made by The New York Times. The committee agreed.

The probe is expected to focus on the family's alleged shares in Ping An, one of the mainland's largest insurance companies.

The Times report, citing regulatory filings and corporate documents, said that in 2007 Wen's family had a US$ 2.2 billion stake in Ping An.

It also alleged that Wen's 90-year-old mother, a former country teacher, owned US$ 120 million of shares in the company.

According to the sources, several powerful conservative party elders, including some of last living Maoist generals and leaders from the times of Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin, are against Wen. They dislike his more liberal stance and support for limited reforms and democratisation.

After the scandal broke out, elder leaders called on the prime minister to provide detailed explanations about the allegations.

• china
• power
• struggle
• scandal
• fortune
• wen
• jiabao