 Chinese billionaire arrested in US over sexual misconduct allegations Washington (AFP) Sept 2, 2018 - Chinese e-commerce billionaire Liu Qiangdong -- also known as Richard Liu -- was briefly arrested in the midwestern US city of Minneapolis over allegations of criminal sexual conduct, authorities said. Records from Hennepin County Jail showed Liu, founder and CEO of Chinese online retail giant JD.com, was arrested over the misconduct allegations late Friday night and released Saturday afternoon. The Minneapolis Police Department said the investigation remained active and would not confirm details of the arrest or the allegations against the 45-year-old Liu. "The individual was arrested Friday evening and released Saturday afternoon. He was released pending formal complaint," Public Information Officer John Elder told AFP. In the state of Minnesota, "criminal sexual conduct" encompasses a broad spectrum of nonconsensual sexual activity. In a statement posted on Chinese social media network Weibo, JD.com confirmed that Liu had been arrested over what it described as a false allegation during a business trip. The statement, contradicting US police, added authorities found no evidence of misconduct and released Liu to continue his trip. Founded in 1998, the Fortune Global 500 company is China's second-largest e-commerce firm and an aggressive competitor of Alibaba. The company says it offers a "one stop" shopping experience to over 300 million active customers in China, with same- and next day-delivery as standard. In June, Google announced it would invest more than half a billion dollars into JD.com as part of a move to expand retail services around the world. The firms will marry JD's supply chain and logistics experience with Google technology to create "next generation" personalized retail in regions including Southeast Asia, the US and Europe, both companies said in a statement.
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Police in central China said Sunday they arrested nearly 50 people after a violent protest sparked by dissatisfaction with the local school system.
More than 600 protesters gathered outside a police station in Leiyang city in Hunan province around midnight Saturday after security personnel stopped a protest earlier in the day, police said in a statement on their website.
They said they arrested 46 people who "attacked" the station, throwing bottles and bricks at local officials attempting to address the crowd. Many cars had been destroyed, the statement added.
Apparent videos of the protests on Twitter showed an angry crowd violently clashing with police in riot gear. AFP could not independently confirm the video.
Trouble began after parents of some middle school students were told they would have to move their children into dormitories at a local private school, resulting in a dramatic increase in tuition fees, according to posts on Chinese social media.
Additionally, commenters complained that unsafe levels of formaldehyde had been detected in some middle schools' newly renovated dormitories.
Posts about the incident had been removed from Chinese social media by Sunday afternoon but were preserved by the anti-censorship website Free Weibo.
In a statement on its website, the local education department said it would test the dorms' formaldehyde levels immediately.
Violent protests are not uncommon in China, where citizens have limited channels for addressing their frustrations with government.
Problems affecting children's health and education are particularly sensitive subjects in the country, where government policy for decades limited parents to only one child.
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