Last week, rumors swept unofficial Internet sites in China stating that the head of government-run People's Bank of China, Zhou Xiaochuan, had defected to an undisclosed country fearing arrest over corruption charges. The reports indicated that the defection had been prompted by the bank’s loss of $430 billion on U.S. Treasury bonds and that Beijing was preparing to take action against key bank officials, including Zhou, for the loss. The rumors spread quickly throughout China but made almost no news in the West, a testament to China’s control over media reports.

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