Chinese Corruption For All To See

Chinese Trial Reveals Vast Web of Corruption -- New York Times

CHONGQING, China — Wen Qiang had a fondness for Louis Vuitton belts, fossilized dinosaur eggs and B-list pop stars. For a public employee in charge of the local judiciary, he also had a lot of money: nearly $3 million that investigators found buried beneath a fish pond.

But Mr. Wen’s lavish tastes were nothing compared with the carnal appetites of his sister-in-law, Xie Caiping, known as “the godmother of the Chongqing underworld.” Prosecutors say she ran 30 illegal casinos, including one across the street from the courthouse. She also employed 16 young men who, according to the state-run press, were exceedingly handsome and obliging.

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My Comment: I was in China to do business in the 1980s, and what I learned from that experience is the following .... if you are not connected with senior government officials (and their families) .... you will just be a target for a shakedown, extortion, lousy products, lousy service, lousy everything. In short .... trying to do business in a corrupt society will be next to impossible .... an environment that will only make you run away to a place where you can do business.

If China wants to be a super power on the world stage, the rule of law must be established in its institutions and organizations. But while the rule of law is still new in China .... as the above case illustrates .... the rule of law still has a long way to go in China.