How One Family In China Pulls The Strings Of Those Who Rule China

Xi Zhongxun, the late father of President Xi Jinping, maintained close ties to the Ye family throughout his life.

Yu Nakamura, Nikkei Asian Review: The kingmaker clan behind Xi Jinping

Some 2,000km south of Beijing, the Ye family pulls the levers of power.

GUANGZHOU -- Beijing, naturally, is where the action happens in China's political theater. But to really understand the country's complex power structure -- and the intense, ongoing struggle for supremacy -- it is also important to look backstage.
That would be Guangdong Province, nearly 2,000km to the south.

Influential figures have, at times, left the capital to build up their clout in Guangdong -- the country's largest economic zone, adjacent to Hong Kong. Chinese President Xi Jinping himself has strong ties to the province.

Those ties include a connection with a legendary Guangdong family, and this link could have major implications for the president's effort to reshape China's leadership this autumn.

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WNU Editor: This is where I can share some of my experiences of China (For those who may not know .... I lived and worked as a diplomat in China in the mid 1980s, and I have been going back and forth since then because of deep friendships and business interests). In China there are about 800 families that basically control the country. All of them have some link to the Chinese Communist Party back 3 generations. They all have their little fiefdoms in the provinces, but treat Beijing, Shanghai, Guandong Province, Macau and Hong Kong as places where they can meet and work together. In a certain way China is like Saudi Arabia .... the country is run by families whose loyalties and friendships go back generations .... they all know each other .... they all go to the same schools .... their children marry each other ..... and yes .... they rule the country. This Nikkei Asian Review is a must read if one wants to really understand how China works .... and to see how one of these important families (the Ye family) exercise control and power. President Xi may rule China today .... but when he is gone (and he will be gone one day) .... the Ye family (and the 800 other families) will still be there, and they will be the ones who will be choosing the next President 20, 30, or 40 years from now. In my book .... that is the definition of power .... family loyalties bonded by history and wealth with a long term view on how to work together .... something that many in the West .... with our fleeting relationships and alliances pursuing short term goals .... have trouble understanding.

Update: I have noticed in my emails this morning that some have interpreted my above comments as an endorsement of that type of system .... definitely not. I was just giving one of my definitions of power .... but for me .... the ultimate source of power for any country are the codes/laws/and constitution that runs it and the respect that it is accorded. One of the many reasons why I love the U.S. system and its constitution is that unlike most countries that codify what are a citizen's rights, the U.S. constitution does it the other way around .... it codifies what the government can do. The U.S. was the first country to do this .... and they have benefited tremendously in the past 250 years. This is why I am not a liberal in the modern sense. This is why I do not vote for people like President Obama who see these documents as restricting what government can do, and are always pushing the argument that it is an evolving document that must always change with time (i.e. accommodate government). I disagree. There are some undeniable truths .... and how people (and governments)  behave has not changed much over the past thousands of years. Respecting those truths is the ultimate source of power .... but man-o-man .... and the U.S. throughout its history is a perfect example of it .... it is always under siege by those who feel that it conflicts with their own agenda and desire for power.