BEIJING – 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 $2.7 billion through a web of investments.
The report published Friday says most of 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’ spokeswoman Eileen Murphy says the paper hoped access to the sites could be restored shortly.
The report is a blow to Wen’s reputation as a politician concerned with bettering the lives of ordinary Chinese.
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