Prominent Businesswomen Detained; Mercedes Bends To The PRC; Vatican and China; Influence and "Sinophobia"

Lots going on so we will get right to it.

Thanks for reading.

The Essential Eight

1. Two Businesswomen Detained In Sun Zhengcai Probe, And Maybe An Even Bigger One

Caixin has posted an abridged translation of its cover story on Liu Fengzhou and the New York Times’ David Barboza and Mike Forsythe are at it again, now reporting that Whitney Duan (段伟红), an apparent white glove to Wen Jiabao’s family, was detained last Fall. That rumor has been going around for a while, good for Mike and David to get it confirmed.

China Detains Executive Close to Family of Former Prime Minister - The New York Times:

The authorities in China have detained a wealthy investor who went into business with relatives of the previous prime minister, a sign that the anticorruption campaign initiated five years ago by President Xi Jinping may again be closing in on a former top leader.

Duan Weihong, 49, who set up companies with relatives of Wen Jiabao, China’s prime minister from 2003 to 2013, was detained before a Co…