Exit or 走 is the last of the 36 Dirty Tricks From Ancient China 36 计. On the 18th of August 2026, one hour after take-off, a flight from Hong Kong bound for Los Angeles was cruising at 30,000 feet. A passenger from China sent out a message to his friend’s group informing them that he would be accompanying a family member who was studying in LA and would be settling down in the US. After stepping down as CEO of his company a little over a month ago on 15th July, he made no announcement and didn’t hold any farewell dinner. His message composed on the plane, safely out of reach of the Chinese authorities, was a little like an apology to his friends over his abrupt exit, not just from the company but also from China.
His name is Xu Yang 徐阳 and he’s the former CEO of sports goods maker, Anta. He has been with the company for 20 years. In 2019, Anta bought over Amer Sports. Xu Yang was seconded to manage one of Amer Sport’s brands Arc’teryx. Within 4 years, Arc’teryx‘s production in China grew from 80 million 3 billion. The brand became a status symbol among the middle class in China. On 15th July, Xu Yang made a surprising exit, going silent after that, only to send out a message over the Pacific Ocean. All the while, his migration to the US had been kept a secret.
Was Xu Yang lucky? Or was he just a small fry that the authorities were not watching very closely? The same can’t be said of former Evergrande boss Xu Jia Yin 许家印. Just two days after Xu Yang’s departure, Shenzhen’s Intermediate People’s Court announced that Mr Xu has been sentenced to life imprisonment after pleading guilty to several charges, including embezzlement of assets and corporate bribery. His personal assets would also be confiscated. His real estate company Evergrande was fined 8.8 billion. Another 56 executives have also been charged. Their terms ranged from 18 years to 10 months.
At its peak of 2017, his fortune is thought to have been $45.3 billion, putting him third on Forbes’ 2020 list of the richest Chinese billionaires. Hui’s sentencing marks a key moment in the fallout from Evergrande’s collapse, which shook China’s property sector and hit investors and domestic banks hard. 670 banks have been absorbed by provincial level banks to help manage debt.
Hui’s 8 charges include:
Here comes the funny part. Evergrande’s modus operandi is not only a familiar one but also a transparent one. After establishing Evergrande in 1997, Hui borrowed to the hilt, massive leverage, aggressive land acquisition, feverish construction, presales, unsecured loans, rolling over and over. In 2008, Hui became a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, the top political advisory body in China. He was promoted to CPPCC National Committee’s Standing Committee in 2013, and actively participated in the conventions since then. By 2017, he was worth almost 30 billion. Official Chinese media sang praises for him, calling him the common folks’ hero.
Hui Ka Yan was not only a poster boy for China’s economic miracle, “proof” that meritocracy works in China – even a poor boy who grew up without a mother could achieve great things. He was also a poster boy for the CCP. Indeed, his company’s organisational structure closely resembles that of the CCP. He was not only CEO, he was also party secretary. Evergrande enforced a strict code of conduct on its employee as though they were party members. Evergrande’s secret does not lie in its technology or a superior product or service. It lies in the rotten system itself. Evergrande’s shady land acquisitions all took place with Hui entertaining the powers that be. Every transaction took place under the approving eyes of the government. They approved the land sales. They approved every single Evergrande’s loan and mortgage applications. Look at the accolades that the Chinese government piled n him. Scammer Chen Zhi is a small fry in comparison.
In 2019, Hui announced that Evergrande would be making a new energy car in line with the government’s direction. He pushed ahead with the same fervour and recklessness as Mao’s Great Leap Forward. In 2021, the bubble finally burst. Suddenly, everything that Hui did is wrong. He was arrested in 2023, sentenced in 2026. The Sinophiles, if they have been fans of “patriot” Hui Ka Yan and critics of “disloyal” Li Ka Shing still try to push the myth about the rule of law in China. Only China has the moral courage to sentence corrupt businessmen to life imprisonment, they say. But what if there were no COVID? What if the bad debts continued to pile up and get “absorbed” until now? You guessed it. Mr Hui would still be a hero collecting awards for doing what he did best.
He might not have been a big a star as Hui Ka Yan, but Xu Yang took no chances. If the government needed money or some public punishment to placate the public, Anta could be next. As for Hui Ka Yan, it’s obvious that he didn’t take Xu Yang or Li Ka Shing’s route as he believed that he was too big to be picked as scapegoat.