Under Mr. Xi has exacerbated the party’s traditional suspicious attitude towards business people who are politically active or outspoken. Wang Gongquan, a former venture capitalist who funded advocacy for more liberal social and political policies, was one of the first high-profile individuals sent to jail after Mr. Xi came to power. Ren Zhiqiang, a retired real estate magnate, was sentenced to 18 years in prison last year after repeatedly pursuing the policies of Mr. Zhiqiang.
In private chat rooms and behind closed doors, some people ask what signal Beijing is sending to the private sector through Mr. Sun to arrest. Mr. Sun is outspoken and generous and in some ways is the model of the civilian businessman praising the party. He built a city – Dawu City – around his campus in Hebei Province, complete with a 1,000-bed hospital.
“My dream,” he once said, “is to build a modern rural town.”
Mr. Sun, 66, was born in Xushui, Hebei Province, about a two-hour drive south of Beijing. He joined the People’s Liberation Army after graduating from high school. He left the army eight years later and moved back to his hometown to work for the state-owned Agricultural Bank of China.
He was a curious and restless soul, studying university law and taking Chinese literature courses in his spare time. In 1985, he ended his banking career and started a business with 1,000 chickens and 50 pigs. His company, Dawu Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Group, now employs about 9,000 people, many from nearby villages.
As his business grew, Mr. Sun liberal intellectuals sought in Beijing. By the spring of 2003, he had become a voice for farmers’ and enterprise rights and delivered speeches at Chinese universities.
After irritating the authorities, he was arrested on charges of illegal fundraising. His new friends jumped to his defense. Lawyers argued that the law he is accused of violating was written in a way that gives authorities wide discretion to prosecute businessmen who fall outside the favor.
Liu Xiaobo, the human rights activist who later became a Nobel laureate and died in prison in 2017, then explained that Sun “is a huge challenge to the current system.” ‘As an entrepreneur, Mr. Liu, wrote, said Mr. Sun despised the bribery, had the financial means to act independently and had the courage to speak out and encourage political reform.