China blocks New York Times website after article
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Buy SPH photosBEIJING (AP) - China has blocked access to The New York Times website after a lengthy expose claiming the family of Premier Wen Jiabao has amassed assets worth US$2.7 billion (S$ 3.3 billion) through a web of investments.
The report published today says most of Mr Wen's family's wealth was accumulated after he rose to high office in 2002. Chinese censors also blocked the Times' Chinese-language site that carried a translated version of the story.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters at a press briefing that the report "blackens China and has ulterior motives".
Times' spokesman Eileen Murphy says the paper hoped access to the sites could be restored shortly. The report is a blow to Mr Wen's reputation as a politician concerned with bettering the lives of ordinary Chinese.
