BEIJING TIMES (CHINA) CHINA TIMES (Taiwan)
BEIJING – Over the last few days, China’s blogosphere has been heating up with spicy rumors that could stretch all the way back to Silicon Valley: a female director of the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC) has been accused of accepting gigolos as bribes from an American tech firm.
The woman executive, whose family name is Zhang, denied the charges, calling the story a malicious slander, and reporting it to Beijing police on Thursday.
According to the Beijing Times, it was a blogger who first reported allegations related to a bid for the massive Sinopec Wuhan ethylene project by Agilent Technologies, a Silicon Valley company that manufactures electronic and bio-analytical measurement instruments. To help win the bid of around 18 billion RMB ($2.86 billion), Agilent allegedly paid for Zhang to enjoy the personal services provided by two African gigolos, and videotaped the encounter to use as eventual blackmail.
The accusation gave meticulous details about the affair. The bribery included a luxurious dinner followed by a trip to a private club on the outskirts of Beijing reserved for rich and powerful women, the China Times reported. The main feature of the club is that it boasts the services of “tall and mighty African gigolos with extraordinary skills.”
The accuser also stated that Zhang colluded with Agilent Technologies so that during the evaluation process the latter lowered its tendered price to be sure to get the business, according to the Beijing Times.
In a country where the public is used to seeing powerful male officials competing to have the most mistresses possible, the latest accusation has gotten extra attention.
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Sinopec HQ (whispertome)
