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Hello from Wonder

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Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this is

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Womanica. Historically,

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women have been told to make themselves smaller,

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to diminish themselves. Some

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have used that idea to their advantage, disappearing

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into new identities. For

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others, a disappearance was the end to their stories,

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but the beginning of a new chapter of their legacy.

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This month, we're telling the stories of these women.

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We're talking about disappearing acts. At

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September fourth, twenty seventeen, and

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a woman sits in her office at Genesis

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Beijing, a twenty two story building

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made of metal and glass. It

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overlooks a river and the rest of the Chinese

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capital. On

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that September day, she might negotiate billion

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dollar deals, have lunches with influential

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politicians, or think about what to do

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with her son that weekend. Little

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does she know that after she leaves her office,

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she won't be seen in public again for years.

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Let's talk about Deuan Weihong, also

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known as Whitney Dewan. Whitney's

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life started with much humbler means. She

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was born the same year that Now launched the Cultural

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Revolution, an attempt to purify

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China from capitalist pursuits and

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as a child. In the late nineteen sixties, Whitney

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and her family lived in a tiny town in Shandong

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Province. When she was a teenager,

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Whitney took the entrance exam so she could

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pursue a higher education, but

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she failed the test. This

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failure shut the door to better career opportunities.

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That said, she worked hard to pry the door back

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open. Whitney's mother then signed

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her up for automobile trade school. Instead

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of getting under cars, Whitney hunched

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over her books and dedicated nights and

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weekends studying to retake the exam.

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Twelve months flipped by on the calendar,

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and this time Whitney passed the exam.

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She attended an Jing Polytechnic Institute

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and graduated at the top of her class.

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She became the executive assistant to the university

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president and watched him network, balance

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relationships, and negotiate with influential

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officers and politicians. She

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learned how to become a chameleon, how

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to charm political influencers and

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foster strategic relationships. In

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nineteen ninety six, Whitney began building her

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own real estate development company called Great

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Ocean. By this point, the

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Communist Party had loosened its grip on capitalism.

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The country was in an economic boom and

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looked like the next great superpower, but

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doing business in Communist China was still difficult.

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The Chinese Communist Party owns most

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of the land in China, so in order

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to build anything, it helps to find officials who

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have a stake in the project. They

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can help cut the red tape around the tedious

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and sometimes crooked bureaucratic process,

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and Whitney excelled at whining and dining

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government officials who offered to cut corners

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as long as they got a cut of her profits.

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Her business thrived. Whitney's

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success rose as high and grand as the building

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she was funding. In two thousand and two,

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she moved to where the big players lived, Beijing.

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She quickly started making friends with city

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officials and soon married her husband,

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Desmond Schum, who was a savvy

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businessman. Together they got

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involved in a number of ambitious and lucrative projects,

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like an airport, cargo terminal and a luxury

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hotel. Whitney became

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a billionaire after the

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couple had a son. It seemed like she had everything

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she could have ever dreamed of. And more. As

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Whitney amassed wealth, so too did her political

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connections. The family

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of the Premiere of China at the time was said

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to have made two point seven billion dollars

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during his time in office, and when The

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New York Times investigated his finances,

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Whitney was named as a central figure. Whitney

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also got involved in politics more directly,

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funding and managing campaigns for government

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officials. But Whitney's

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success wouldn't last for long. The

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political tide was turning and a new leader

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stepped in. In twenty

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twelve, Shi Jinping became the party

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leader and immediately began an anti corruption

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campaign. He removed

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many long standing government officials and replaced

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them with people who were loyal to him. Somehow,

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Whitney got through this period mostly unscathed,

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but she now had a target on her. Desmond

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eventually suggested they leave the country and

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moved their business abroad, but

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Whitney didn't want to lose all the years of

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growth and relationships she'd built. She

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pushed back, and the couple divorced.

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After one term of Shijinping's presidency,

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the Communist Party proposed a bill to remove

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the two term limit. This made

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it easy for him to stay in power until he decided

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to step down. It was terrible

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news for Whitney. She'd been managing

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a political campaign for an official who was vying

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for the top seat in the next election. Whitney

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had met with him in tea houses and strategized

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how he could win. But with a party

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leader who had no interest in leaving, anyone

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who had political aspirations against him were marked

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this time, she couldn't get away scott free.

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In twenty seventeen, Whitney and her housekeeper

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suddenly disappeared. Whitney

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wasn't seen again for years.

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Her ex husband and son had previously

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moved to the UK. There was no

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sign of Whitney for four years

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until her ex husband decided to publish

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a tell all memoir about doing business

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in communist China called Red Roulette.

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It was only when news of the book reached China

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that Whitney resurfaced. According

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to Desmond, Whitney said she was now on temporary

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release and could be detained at any time.

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In two phone calls, she urged him to

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not go through with the publication. Desmond

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told NPR she used the Chinese warning

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the ones who opposed the state will see no

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good ending. Desmond

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Shum published the book Anyway. Whitney

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was reportedly seen twice in twenty twenty three,

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once visiting a nursing home and once

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attending a seminar about rural regeneration.

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Her current status and whereabouts are unknown.

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Whitney is one of a number of Chinese billionaires

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who've recently disappeared. All

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month, We're talking about disappearing acts.

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For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram

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at Wamanica Podcast Special

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thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co

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creator. We'll be back

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tomorrow with a brand new theme. Talk

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to you then,