今天看BBC练英语，没想到看到了这个，感叹如果一个商人身价是27亿绝不会有人议论，为什么政治精英就会如此，感觉不公平。

China'sxxx family rejects New York Times claims
Lawyers for Chinese Premier xxx's family haverejected New York Times claims that they have amassed "hidden riches"of billions of dollars.

In a statement carried by Hong Kong media, theysaid that while some of the family were involved in business activities none ofit was illegal.

The US newspaper reported on Friday that Mr xxx'sfamily controlled assets worth at least $2.7bn (£1.7bn).

It responded to the statement on Sunday, saying itstood by the story.

China has condemned the report as a smear, and NYTsites are blocked in the country, as are references to the report onmicro-blogging sites.

Legal threat

Bai Tao of the Junhe Law Office and Wang Weidongof the Grandall Law Firm released the statement late on Saturday eveningresponding to the "untrue" New York Times report.

"The so-called 'hidden riches' ofxxx's familymembers in The New York Times' report does not exist," the statement said.

The lawyers also denied that Mr xxx had any rolein his family's business activities, nor allowed them to influence policy.

It specifically referred to Mr xxx's 90-year-oldmother, who it said had no property nor any income apart from her salary andpension.

One of the central claims of the report was thatYang Zhiyun had a $120m investment in Ping An Insurance.

The statement ended with an apparent threat oflegal action.

"We will continue to make clarificationsregarding other untrue reports by the New York Times, and reserve the right tohold it legally responsible," it said.

But Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy expressedconfidence in the report.

"We are standing by our story, which we areincredibly proud of and which is an example of the quality investigativejournalism The Times is known for," she wrote in an email quoted by thenewspaper.

Power transition

In its report, the New York Times said Mr xxx'srelatives' holdings included property, insurance and construction firms.

"In many cases, the names of the relativeshave been hidden behind layers of partnerships and investment vehiclesinvolving friends, work colleagues and business partners," it said.

The newspaper said both the Chinese government andMr xxx's relatives declined to comment on the investigation, which was based oncorporate records from 1992-2012.

China is sensitive about reports on its leaders,particularly when it comes to their wealth.

A growing wealth gap is causing public discontent,as are the frequent corruption scandals involving government officials.

When, in June 2012, a Bloomberg investigativereport examined the finances of the relatives of president-in-waitingxxx, thecompany's website was blocked in China - even though the report said there wasno indication of wrongdoing by him or his family.

Mrxxx has been the Chinese premier for almost 10years. He is due to step down in a power transition that begins on 8 November.

He is seen as a popular figure with the commontouch, and is portrayed in state media as a leader with great concern for thelives of ordinary people.