So whatever happened to Yang Bin, the man listed just a few years ago as the second richest man in China? Yang is actually a Dutch national, but was arrested in China back in November as part of a Chinese crackdown on bribery and other corruption. Yang headed up Euro-Asia Agricultural (Holdings) Co Ltd (a major flower exporter), but was arrested by Chinese authorities just a few days after North Korea had named him to head up a free trade area near the North Korea/China border. He was charged with falsifying financial documents and his trial was to have begun in June. But this Washington Post story about the government shutting down a Beijing newspaper notes that media outlets in China are specifically forbidden from reporting on Yang’s case. I assume that means the world will find out about Yang’s sentence a month or two after the completion of his trial. Sources: China Closes Beijing Newspaper in Media Crackdown. John Pomfert, The Washington Post, June 20, 2003. China to Deal with Yang Bin Case According to Law. Xinhua News Agency, November 29, 2002. China orchid king stands trial. Jonathan Ansfield, Reuters, June 10, 2003.