Beijing: Long before he courted controversy for his Australian political donations, high profile Chinese Australian businessman Huang Xiangmo had a track record of making multi-million dollar donations in his home city of Jieyang, in southern China.
Two days ago, the former mayor of Jieyang, Chen Hongping, received a suspended death sentence for corruption and accepting 140 million yuan ($27 million) in bribes. He faces life in prison, with all of his property confiscated.
Mr Huang told Fairfax Media on Wednesday: "While I have no comment on the outcome, I would strongly reject any inference that I have been implicated in this case."
Chen stepped down as mayor in 2011, shortly before a corruption investigation into his eccentric projects, including a vast tomb built on feng shui principals, and a city tower, began. Mr Huang moved to Australia the same year.
Before Chen's downfall, Mr Huang openly discussed the large donations he had made to the city at Chen's request.
Mr Huang donated 60 million yuan to the town in 2009 to build a grand city gate after Chen directly asked Mr Huang for the money.
Mr Huang told the local Jieyang newspaper in 2009: "One night at ten o'clock, secretary Chen Hongping and I had a tea chat... On that day, secretary Hongping mentioned the building of Jieyang Tower, he looked very emotional, very urgent. He did not hide the status of Jieyang's financial distress... and hoped that I could help."
Mr Huang believed Chen was embarrassed to "raise this issue and ask for 'donation' from a business owner, and he was not doing this for his political performance", the report said.
Mr Huang transferred 10 million yuan to the city's bank account within four days, and later, another 50 million yuan.
The Yuhu Group website describes how Chen and Mr Huang together visited the construction site for the tower in January 2009, and its completion ceremony in July 2009.
In 2011, Mr Huang donated another 80 million yuan for the city to build a Bodhisattva pavilion.
Mr Huang had told the town's newspaper, before he moved to Australia, that he donated such large sums for charity, and asked for nothing in return.
"I will never do business with charity. Because return to home and return to society is not give and take, there should not be any additional conditions," he told the newspaper.
The Guangdong newspaper part-owned by another high profile Chinese-Australian political donor, Chau Chak Wing, covered the verdict on Tuesday.
The New Express Daily reported that between 2004 and 2011, Chen used his position as Jieyang mayor and party secretary to seek benefits for others and accepted property equivalent to 139 million yuan. In 2011, he sought illegal interests for others, abusing his power.
Chen was arrested in 2013, and Fairfax Media has previously reported that the prosecutor's indictment included the allegation that Chen erred by overspending on the city gate.
There is no suggestion Mr Huang's contribution toward the Jieyang Tower should be construed as a bribe. Mr Huang has told Fairfax Media previously that he was never mentioned by name in the prosecution's indictment.
Another Jieyang businessman who donated to the tower was sentenced to two years and 11 months' jail, after Chen told the court in a separate trial he had been given 95 million yuan by the businessman but it wasn't a bribe.
