ZTE lawyer Bao Yuming quits over child rape accusattions

Chinese telecommunications company ZTE on Friday announced its independent non-executive director Bao Yuming had submitted his resignation amid his ongoing child rape investigation, China's state daily Global Times reports.

Bao had held his post at ZTE since mid-2018 and received a salary of 250,000 yuan (US$35,525) in 2019. Bao was also chief legal officer at Yantai Jereh Oilfield Services Group Co. in Yantai, eastern Shandong province. 

Jereh on Thursday confirmed the company had been in negotiations with Bao and his employment contract has now been terminated. 

Bao’s scandal came to the public’s attention after media reported he had taken a 14-year-old girl captive in 2016, raped her repeatedly and forced her to watch pornographic videos involving children. Related topics have been trending on China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo with many netizens urging thorough investigation and serious punishment of Bao. 

Bao convinced Li Xingxing (pseudonym) and her mother that he wanted to form a family with them, and was subsequently granted de facto guardianship of Li. He then brought Li to his apartment in Yantai, restricted her freedom and repeatedly raped and abused her, Guangzhou-based biweekly magazine South Review reported. 

On April 8, 2019, Li attempted to take her own life but was found and brought to police. She revealed what had happened to her and evidence was then collected. Bao was summoned to the police station for investigation, according to the report. 

Police in Zhifu District in the city of Yantai said late on Thursday that a case had been filed on April 9, 2019. Following an investigation, police believed Bao’s behaviors had not constituted a crime, and the case was retracted on April 26, according to the official police Weibo account.  

With new evidence submitted by Li and her lawyer, the case was refiled on October 9, 2019, and investigations have been conducted both within and outside Yantai. The case is ongoing, police said. 

A South Review reporter in April attempted to contact Bao, who is out on bail, but the call was ended once Bao realized he was talking to a media representative.

Reuters reported that ZTE said in a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Friday that it had received the resignation letter of non-executive board member Bao Yuming and that he will no longer hold any position at the company.

The filing said that the company was "concerned" by the media reports.

Bao, also known as Robert Y. Bao, could not immediately be reached for comment by phone, email or social media on Friday afternoon. His website, Bao Law, could not be accessed on Friday.

Reuters said Bao was brought on to ZTE's board in June 2018 in a
management shakeup as part of a deal with Washington, as the company sought to lift a devastating supplier ban introduced after it broke an agreement to discipline executives who conspired to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran and North Korea.

ZTE's 2018 annual report says that Bao worked in New York and California for nearly 10 years and that he has served as a senior legal adviser to several multinational companies including Cisco and News Corporation. It described him as "one of the top 10 chief legal officers in the country." -Global Times and Agencies