By Alistair MacDonald And David George-Cosh
In January, John Jia traveled from Canada to Shanghai to attend
a friend's wedding, which he told his Instagram followers would be
the "best wedding ever."
Eleven months later, the 21-year-old has yet to return home to
Canada after being swept up in Beijing's spreading anticorruption
investigation, which has already implicated dozens of officials in
China and reached into the operations of its state-run enterprises
abroad.
Mr. Jia told friends in a Facebook post in January that he has
been unable to leave China after being placed on a "no fly/exit
list" due to an investigation into his uncle, a "very powerful and
high ranking politician."
That uncle is one of the Communist Party's most senior figures:
Zhou Yongkang, according to several people familiar with the
matter. Mr. Zhou, a former domestic security chief who once ran
China National Petroleum Corp., is being investigated for "serious
disciplinary violations," according to China's state media.
The Wall Street Journal earlier this year found that Mr. Zhou's
family members and friends forged ties with CNPC and amassed
holdings in the petroleum, investment and media sectors worth tens
of millions of dollars. State media has said the state-run oil
company's subsidiaries are being probed for embezzlement and
inspected for evidence of "private coffers."
The politically sensitive case of Mr. Zhou remains in the hands
of the Communist Party's internal investigation arm, officials have
said. He is widely expected to eventually be removed from the party
and prosecuted.
The travel curbs placed on Mr. Jia provide a glimpse into the
far-reaching impact of Beijing's probe and his situation offers a
window into the privileged lives of relatives of high-ranking
officials abroad.
Chinese authorities have declined to comment on Mr. Jia.
Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs said it hadn't received a
request for consular assistance.
His inability to leave comes at a time when relations between
Ottawa and Beijing have grown increasingly tense. A Canadian couple
in August was detained in China and accused of spying, and in late
2012 Ottawa made it harder for state-owned enterprises to buy
Canadian oil assets, a once favored destination for Chinese
money.
Friends say that Mr. Jia is a Canadian citizen, though that
could not be confirmed independently. He is the son of Margaret
Jia, who recently left her job as head of the Canadian subsidiary
of CNPC amid a shakeup. Ms. Jia is a sister-in-law of Mr. Zhou,
according to people familiar with the matter.
After a decade as a high-profile player in Calgary's energy
patch, Ms. Jia, who declined to comment, has all but dropped from
view, according to multiple people who know her.
Reached in China in August, Mr. Jia didn't respond to questions.
Since being contacted Mr. Jia has canceled various social media
accounts. Neither Mr. Jia nor Ms. Jia have been accused of
wrongdoing.
In his Facebook message Mr. Jia told his friends not to tell
others of his predicament because it could "jeopardize" his chances
of getting home.
"I don't know what happened, but because of my relation with (my
uncle) I cannot leave the country until its being resolved," he
wrote, according to a copy of the message seen by The Wall Street
Journal.
In his Facebook message, Mr. Jia said: "I didn't do anything
wrong, otherwise I'd be detained right now."
He and his mother arrived in Canada about a decade ago,
according to people who know the family. His mother's connections
to China's state energy companies made her a high-profile player in
Calgary, able to command meetings with Canadian lawmakers on short
notice.
Her son led a lifestyle not dissimilar from that of many
affluent young Canadians, attending hip-hop concerts, watching
hockey and taking golfing vacations in Costa Rica, according to
photographs that he posted on Instagram, the photo-sharing
application.
But even in the affluent part of oil-rich Calgary where he
lived, Mr. Jia stood out as wealthy, former classmates say.
By his late teens, Mr. Jia was living in his own house,
according to friends. For high-school graduation, he was given a
Camaro, with the personalized license plate TEE RAW, by his mother,
whose Range Rover he also drove, according to friends and his own
photographs. Mr. Jia had a taste for designer clothes,
photographing himself in expensive suits, and toting a Louis
Vuitton wallet inscribed with O.M.G.s.
Mr. Jia followed his mother into the oil industry while studying
for a business degree. According to regulatory filings, Mr. Jia
worked as a business development associate at State Resources
Investment Corp., a subsidiary of Canada Capital Energy Corp., a
Calgary-based oil producer.
Friends describe Mr. Jia as a sociable and generous man who
throws birthday parties for others, picking up the tab.
"He's a little bit of a legend," said Kristen Mason, a former
high-school friend in Calgary. "Backstage passes, driving cool cars
and traveling a lot, he's got a neat life for a young kid."
In January that lifestyle was placed on hold. Friends said that
Mr. Jia had told them that he would be in China for a few weeks.
Since arriving in Shanghai on Jan. 17, he has sent few
messages.
"It was a weird feeling, because we didn't know what was going
on," said another friend from Calgary.
In his January Facebook message to friends, Mr. Jia said that
relatives had got him a job working in a real estate company. "This
is the first time in my life where I feel completely lost," he
said.
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