November 15, 2004

You are on the invidual archive page of I'll see you and I'll raise you. Click Simon World weblog for the main page.
I'll see you and I'll raise you

China has long had a system of public examinations for public service positions as a method to ensure the best and brightest are recognised despite class and wealth. Public officials are powerful and often accumulate wealth through means fair and foul. Accordingly there has been a long tradition of taking the short cut via corruption in obtaining public posts. Such trade also makes the office holders beholden to whoever sold them the position, thus cementing the leader's power base as they move up the ranks.

The People's Daily has an intereview with a professor who specialises in researching corruption (that should tell you something about the extent of the problem). Professor Hu points out 4 "new" features to the buying and selling of official posts:

1. Scope Enlargement: once you're an official you can accumulate wealth through "unfair means".
2. Business Marketisation: there are high and low seasons for trading, but it happens 24/7. Peak season is usually when a leader is running for office. The prices of the same office will vary depending on "location, time and human relations". I assume the latter is who you work with. At the moment we've shifted from a seller's market to a buyer's market.
3. Diversified ways: Cash alone isn't enough. At festivals the buyers of offices bring offerings (wine, fruit, cigarettes) to the leaders, or they try buttering up the wives or kids of the leaders. Alternatively they take up the same hobbies, or play and deliberately lose at mahjong or golf, or taking the leader on an overseas trip, or paying for overseas study.
4. Amount on a scale: the trading is so common place that package deals are done, where several positions are doled out in a single session.

It all bears an uncanny resembelence to working in any large Western company.

posted by Simon on 11.15.04 at 09:53 AM in the




Trackbacks:

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://blog.mu.nu/cgi/trackback.cgi/54643


Send a manual trackback ping to this post.


Comments:




Post a Comment:

Name:


Email Address:


URL:


Comments:


Remember your info?










Disclaimer