Businessman Gets Death Sentence

A Chinese businessman with close ties to Deng Xiaoping has been sentenced to death on corruption charges--a sign that the country’s ailing senior leader no longer can protect his allies. Zhou Beifang was accused of accepting $1.2 million in bribes. He also allegedly offered $156,000 in bribes to other officials to help his wife and daughter move to Hong Kong. Zhou, the former head of a Hong Kong-based subsidiary of China’s giant Capital Iron & Steel Works, was sentenced to death for bribery. But he was given a two-year reprieve, and his sentence can be commuted to life in prison if he shows good behavior.