Book Read Free

The Party: The Secret World of China's Communist Rulers

Page 41

by Richard Mcgregor


  Shenzhen

  corruption cases, 181

  Deng’s tour to, 41

  Shijiazhuang, 174

  Shirk, Susan, 129

  shuanggui (double regulation), 142–3

  Sichuan

  corruption cases, 139

  earthquake, 192

  Singapore

  COSCO in, 102

  Suzhou industrial park, 83

  Sinified Marxism, 67

  Sinology, 18–19

  Sinopec, 63–4

  society, infiltrates Party, 30

  Song Ping, 36

  Song Xiaojun, 119–20, 125, 132

  southern tour, 41

  Southern Weekend, 185–6

  Soviet Union

  disintegration of, 35, 131

  nomenklatura system, 78, 79

  Orgburo, 76

  Party’s verdict on collapse of, 237–8

  succession, 154

  Stalin, Joseph, 76

  Standing Committee, 13, 278–9n

  above corruption investigation, 147

  Shanghai gang in, 154

  state assets

  debates over, 40

  Deng’s model on, 42

  new conservatives on, 35, 39

  state enterprises

  competition and profitability, 53–6

  Deng’s model on, 42

  new conservatives on, 39

  Party’s low profile in, 21–2, 49

  pay structure for CEOs, 102–3

  personnel control of, 46, 68–9, 73–4, 84–9

  reform, 44, 67–8

  split personalities of, 53, 64

  stock options, 100–101

  tax from, 267

  workers lay-offs, 42–3, 50

  see also individual enterprises

  steel industry, 220, 221, 222

  Stewart, Jackie, 162

  Storming the Barricades (Zhou Tianyong), 69

  students

  loans, 173

  money worship, 133

  view of Party, 31–2

  Su Shulin, 64

  Su Zhiliang, 245, 246

  Sudan, 62

  Suihua, 97–9, 116

  Sun Jingkan, 160

  Suzhou, 83

  corruption cases, 139–40

  Tai lake (Taihu), 89, 90, 91–2

  Taiwan issue

  Jiang and Hu’s policies, 106–7, 127–30, 134

  nationalist stand on, 131–2

  nature of, 122–3

  one-China policy, 127–8

  Taiwanese opinions, 125–8

  see also Kuomintang

  Tang Dynasty (ad 618–907), official vetting, 77

  tax policy, 178, 179

  telecommunication, 233–4

  telecoms companies, 84–9

  terror, 265

  textbook censorship, 249–50

  Thatcher, Margaret, 202

  38th Army, 109–10

  Thornton, John, 88

  Tian, Edward, 84, 86–9

  Tian Fengshan, 98

  Tian Wenhua

  charged, 172

  downfall, 188

  dual responsibility dilemma, 186

  leads emergency meeting, 171

  titles of, 182–3

  trial and charge, 190–91

  Tiananmen Square massacre, 105, 253, 262

  discussion suppressed, 35

  impact of, 34–5, 36, 201, 202

  Party’s verdict, 239

  post-event investigation, 36

  splits Party and PLA, 109–10

  Tibet, 111

  Tieben see Jiangsu Tieben Iron & Steel

  The Times of Deng Xiaoping (Yang Jisheng), 253–4

  Todai elite, 9

  Tombstone (Yang Jisheng), 229, 230–31, 232

  sourcing of, 254–5

  trade union, 213–14

  Tsai, George, 126–7, 130

  Tsang Yok-sing, 21

  21st-Century World Herald, 247

  ‘Twenty-Seven Perfections’, 77

  UBS, 199 Unhappy China (Wang and Song), 112, 132

  United Front Department, 17

  United Front department, 235

  United Kingsom, elite networks, 9

  United States

  aircraft carrier patrols seas around Taiwan, 128

  elite networks, 9

  official appointment, 74

  patriotism, 270

  pet food scandals, 183, 184–5

  universities, 79–80

  Unocal, 54

  urban citizens, 27

  Urumqi, 111, 139

  Vatican, and China, 11–12

  vertushka, 13

  voting, 11–12

  wages, 56

  Wal-Mart, 213–14

  Wan Yanhai, 3

  Wang Jianzhou, 85

  Wang Juntao, 23–4

  Wang Minggao, 140, 144

  on corruption cases, 148

  interview with, 71, 72

  lack of name card, 70–71

  Wang Qishan, ix, xvi

  Wang Shengjun, 24

  Wang Shenyi, 99

  Wang Shi, 207–8

  Wang Weizhi, 231, 258–60

  Wang Xiaodong, 112

  Wang Xiaofang, 95, 96

  Wang Xuebing, 158

  Wang Yang, 234

  Watergate scandal, 164

  Wen Jiabao, xvi, 7, 279n

  confronted by Chen Liangyu, 163

  on democracy, 20

  development policies, 178–80

  solves Sinopec oil dispute, 63

  on Tieben case, 221

  titles of, 15–16

  visits earthquake zone, 192

  wife and son of, 147–8

  on Zhang Enzhao’s case, 145

  Wen Wei Bao, 21

  Wenzhou, 215, 217–18

  ‘west mountain meeting’, 22–3

  Wolf, Martin, 237, 269

  World Trade Organization, 202, 266

  Wrath of Heaven, 144, 168, 169

  writers/artists, 96

  Wu, Joseph, 123, 124

  Wu Bangguo, 7, 279n

  Wu Lihong, 90–91

  Wu Si, 74

  Wu Xiaobo, 209

  Xi Jinping, 8, 228, 279n

  Xia Chuntao, 247, 251–2

  Xia Jianming, 30

  Xiamen, corruption cases, 139, 159

  Xiang river, 92–3

  Xiao Chaoxuan (fictional), 95–6

  Xiao Yaqing, 57, 58, 60–61

  Xinhua news agency

  interview with Zhang Ruimin, 198

  on peanut product scandal, 191

  secret internal reports, 230, 253

  on Tian’s downfall, 188

  Xinjiang, 111, 139

  Xinjiang Soldier Corps, 114

  Xintiandi, Shanghai, 29

  Xinyang, 255–8

  Xu Guanhua, 140

  Xu Haiming, 135–6, 137, 153, 157, 160, 164, 167

  Xu Kuangdi, 151, 156

  Xu Qinxian, Lieutenant-General, 109–10

  Yan Xuetong, 104

  on diplomatic policy, 132

  on Hu’s policies, 107

  on military, 122

  on money worship, 132–4

  on Taiwan issue, 131–2

  Yan’an rectification, 77–8

  Yang, Andrew, 120

  on Taiwan issue, 122, 126, 129

  Yang Bin, 206

  Yang Jiechi, 277n

  Yang Jisheng, 229–31, 232, 239–40, 252–6, 258, 259–61, 265

  Yang Mianmian, 203

  Yang Ping, 39, 40

  Yang Rong, 206

  Yang Shangkun, 239

  Yang Yuanqing, 204

  Yingkou, 175

  You Ji, 121

  Youngor, 216

  Yu Dehong, 232, 255–7, 260

  Yu Jianrong, 179

  Yu Jie, 246–7

  Yu Minhong, 227

  Yu Qiuli, 113

  Yuan Weishi, 70, 78–9, 249–50, 252

  Yuanhua case, 7–8

  Yung Chunchang, 119


  Yunnan, 181

  Zeng Qinghong, 74, 81–2

  Zhang Baoqing, 170, 173

  Zhang Chunjiang, 88

  Zhang Dahong, 216

  Zhang Dejiang, 208–9

  Zhang Enzhao, 145–6

  Zhang Peili, 147–8

  Zhang Quanjing, 75

  Zhang Ruimin, 194, 198, 203

  Zhang Yimou, 121–2

  Zhao Ziyang, 80, 154, 254

  encourages political reform, 36

  image blackout, 35

  rural reform, 200

  Zhejiang, 209

  Zheng Bijian, 106

  Zheng Enchong, 135, 137, 159, 161, 167

  Zheng Xiaoyu, 183

  Zhengtai Group, 218

  Zhou Enlai, 113, 123, 253

  Zhou Qiren, 220, 223

  Zhou Ruijin, 31, 154

  Zhou Tianyong, 69

  Zhou Yongkang, 24–5, 81–2, 279n

  Zhou Zhengyi, 157–8, 159, 161–2, 167

  Zhu Feng, 62–3

  Zhu Peikun, 32

  Zhu Rongji, 148

  careers, 81

  financial system reform, 44–6

  misread by Western leaders, 43

  state enterprise reform, 44

  visits Huawei, 204

  Acknowledgements

  Journalists rely on the charity, goodwill and democratic impulse of people the world over. This is particularly the case in China. But it is also a fact of life in China that individuals who discuss the inner workings of the political system can get into serious trouble. Even discussing innocuous issues with the foreign press can set back careers. So while there are many people I would like to thank, they might not thank me for doing so.

  The Party’s often pathological secrecy explains why I have omitted from the acknowledgements that follow the scores of Chinese who helped me over many years in China, including when gathering information for this book. Many people quoted directly in the manuscript granted on-the-record interviews, either in the eight years from 2000, when I was working in China for the Financial Times, or during the twelve months from May 2008, when I researched and wrote the book. Some material was gathered when I was in Hong Kong and China in the mid-nineties, working for The Australian newspaper. Just as many people are quoted anonymously. This is not ideal but, equally, it is unavoidable.

  Many people have helped me over the years in China, not necessarily in the process of doing this book, but either through their writings, conversation, research or simply by putting me in my place. A number I know only through email. I would like to thank Jasper Becker, Nicholas Bequelin, Robin Bordie, the late Jim Brock, Andrew Browne, Chris Buckley, Nicolas Chapuis, Ching Cheong, Clinton Dines, Ding Xueliang, Erica Downs, Michael Dunne, Graham Fletcher, John Garnaut, Stephen Green, Ha Jiming, Michael Han, Sebastian Heilmann, Bert Hofman, Rupert Hoogewerf, Trevor Houser, Fraser Howie, Nico Howson, Szu-chien Hsu, Yasheng Huang, Bruce Jacobs, Joseph Kahn, David Kelly, Nicolas Lardy, Yu Maochun, Alice Miller, Luke Minford, Barry Naughton, Mark O’Neill, Gordon Orr, Lynn Pan, Andy Rothman, Flora Sapio, Bob Shi, Victor Shih, Robert Thomson, Joerg Wuttke and Wu Xiaobo. Richard Baum’s ChinaPol was a constantly valuable resource.

  A number of people kindly agreed to read some sections and provided valuable feedback. Particular thanks to Carl Walter, David Shambaugh, Bruce Dickson, John Fitzgerald, Arthur Kroeber, Anne-Marie Brady and Zhou Xun. John Burns was a valuable guide for the organization department. Duncan Clarke, Don Clarke, David Lague, Alex McGregor, Peter Hartcher and Melinda Liu were also helpful.

  Xiao Jin and the team at the Universities Service Centre for China Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong were helpful to a fault, as they seem to have been over many years for scores of grateful researchers.

  A special thanks to my excellent colleagues at the Financial Times in China over the years, James Kynge, Mure Dickie, Geoff Dyer, Jamil Anderlini and Andrew Yeh, and to Kathrin Hille for her suggestions on Taiwan. In Hong Kong and London, John Ridding, Lionel Barber, Dan Bogler and Victor Mallett supported my year off and, prior to that, my reporting in China generally.

  Like most foreigners in China, I have been hand-held by terrific, intrepid locals. Samuel Shen, Sun Yu (who lasted the longest) and Wang Bing all put up with me for lengthy periods. Li Bibo provided invaluable research support and insight for the book itself. On top of digging up lots of nuggets, most important of all, he understood the topic at hand.

  My agents, Felicity Bryan in the UK, and Gail Ross and Howard Yoon in Washington, grasped the idea immediately and were helpful in moulding the proposal to put it in front of publishers. I am thankful to Tim Duggan at HarperCollins in the US and Will Goodlad at Penguin for then taking the project forward.

  The Foreign Ministry in Beijing may not like this book, if they notice it at all. I tend to think the Chinese government doesn’t overly care about what is published outside the country, unless it focuses on the regime’s neuralgic points, notably Tibet, Xinjiang, Taiwan and the Falun Gong, the outlawed religious group. In any case, as the host body for foreign journalists, the ministry has been, for the most part, polite, professional and helpful when possible, and I would like to register my appreciation for that.

  None of this would have been possible without the love and support of my wife, Kath Cummins, who gave up the confines of Canberra to jump into the sea in China in 2000. By the time we left China in 2009, she calculated she had spent a quarter of her life in the country. I am in her debt probably more than she knows. Our two lovely children, Angus and Cate, were born in Shanghai and Beijing respectively. Naturally, I think they were lucky to be brought up in China, and not just because they have flawless tones when speaking Chinese, but also because they have developed exemplary eating habits along the way (‘Mummy, more tofu!’). China is easily the most exciting, interesting country in the world, and I hope the experience stays with them for the rest of their lives, as it will with me.

 

‹ Prev