Wanting Qu's mother reportedly arrested in China on corruption charges

 APRIL 24, 2015

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Wanting Qu with her mother.

The mother of Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson’s girlfriend [top photo], Wanting Qu has been arrested in China in relation to corruption allegations, according to Chinese media sources.

Qu Zhang Mingjie, an official in the city of Harbin in northern China, was recently relieved of various posts related to urban construction and development and is now in detention, according to the South China Morning Post, citing a report by state media outlet China Daily.

Zhang Mingjie’s arrest is in relation to the sale of state properties below market value for personal profit, according to mainland Chinese media sources Phoenix TV and China Daily. The charge comes after an investigation that began last year.

Zhang Mingjie was turfed as director of Harbin’s Urban Development Infrastructure Division in November, according to a notice posted on the city’s website.

The longtime official is the mother of Wanting Qu ― a singer/songwriter with a massive following in Malaysia and China and an official ambassador for Tourism Vancouver ― according to Phoenix TV and Taiyuan and Yunnan media sources.

Robertson has been in a relationship with Wanting Qu, for at least a few months. The mayor’s director of communications Braeden Caley said Robertson was in meetings all day and could not be reached. Caley declined to make a statement on the arrest.

“That’s not something that this office would be commenting on,” he said.

Qu, a prolific user of social media, did not comment on the arrest on her Twitter or Weibo accounts.

An employee at Vancouver-based artist management label Nettwerk declined to make a statement, noting that company staff never comment on the personal lives of their clients.

Qu was born in Harbin but has lived and worked in Vancouver at times that date back to at least the age of 16, according to Tourism Vancouver.

Qu’s relationship with her mother is “disharmonious,” according to various reports by Chinese media that suggest Zhang Mingjie did not approve of her daughter’s music career.