by Ted Halstead
But you wouldn't know that from how loudly they complained when they lost money.
Chinese investors were mostly in for the long term. Nobody wanted to attempt living on the meager retirement benefits provided by the government. With interest rates low, the Exchange was the only practical alternative, and daily fluctuations were seen as routine.
Not by foreigners. And once there was even a hint that the Exchange itself had been robbed, the unexplained "technical outage" had become a major news story outside China.
Gateway owners tried to upload the foreign press stories through social media, but nearly all were swiftly removed. Hacking "shame signs" at traffic intersections was one thing.
But now, this was about real money.
Chen smiled to herself as she walked to work, pushing herself without much thought through the usual morning crowds. It was a route she could take in her sleep.
Her subway trip took her past only a few stations before depositing her at one just two blocks from the office building where Chen worked.
Nobody with sense would walk the rest of the distance at street level, though. It was much safer to avoid the heavy traffic there and go through the underground walkways.
Some of the walkways downtown had been designed with small shops on either side from the start. Others had vendors occupying part of the walkway in little kiosks. Their products ranged from packaged foods suitable for a quick lunch at an office desk to scarves, ties, umbrellas- anything light enough to be easily carried by a busy person on their way to work.
Busy with her thoughts, Chen suddenly became aware men were walking on both sides of her. Though both were wearing suits and ties, their build and bearing said these were not office workers.
No. Her heart racing, Chen's first thought was – police?
The man to her right spoke in a calm, low voice. "Do not be alarmed. We have been asked to escort you to a meeting with Mr. Pan. His office is not far from here. Your employer has already been advised that you will be out sick today."
The man then spoke a phrase that sent a wave of relief washing over Chen. It was the phrase sent to Chen through her Gateway, changed weekly, that told her whoever spoke it was a member of Forward.
Chen nodded, and the man gestured to the next set of stairs to the right that led to street level. Where a large and expensive foreign-built sedan was idling against the curb. Despite the many prominent signs along the street forbidding any such action.
A glance revealed at least four policemen in plain view. Chen was more impressed by their studied failure to spot the illegally placed vehicle than the sedan itself.
Whoever owned it must be powerful indeed.
At least they were telling the truth about one thing. It was just a couple of minutes before the sedan left the street and descended into the garage level.
Chen took careful note of which building stretched above her head before they began their descent. It would be easy to remember because it was one of the tallest in Shanghai.
And then shook her head with chagrin as the sedan made multiple turns between several interconnected subterranean garages. Chen knew she was still in downtown Shanghai.
But that was all.
Their vehicle pulled up in front of an elevator with no button or any other visible device next to it.
Instead, a camera pointed down from the wall on top of the elevator door.
The man who had spoken to Chen earlier, but remained silent since looked up at the camera and remained perfectly still.
The elevator door slid open.
The man gestured for Chen to enter. Though she expected both men to enter the elevator with her, they remained outside as the door closed, and it began moving upwards.
There were no buttons inside the elevator either. Apparently, it was controlled by whoever or whatever was operating that camera, Chen thought.
As the elevator's speed increased and her ride continued, she realized the answer was probably more straightforward. This elevator only had one destination.
The top.
When the door opened, she immediately realized her guess had been correct. Directly in front of her was a panoramic stretch of glass revealing a view of Shanghai from a dizzying height. The vista was undoubtedly designed to impress anyone visiting the man who had his office here.
Chen smiled to herself wryly. Yes, she was smart enough to know when she was being manipulated.
She was also smart enough to know it was still working.
While she was standing momentarily transfixed by the view, a well-dressed man appeared at her side.
"Welcome, Ms. Chen. I am Mr. Pan's private secretary. Please allow me to escort you to his office," the man said with a slight bow.
Moments later, Chen was standing inside a vast office, blinking to adjust her eyes to its dimness after the brilliantly lit vista just outside. Pan sat behind a handsome dark wood desk at the opposite end, with several stacks of paper piled in front of him in three black metal trays.
Chen noticed immediately there were no electronic screens in view anywhere and nodded to herself.
Old-school security. Paper couldn't be hacked.
He looks younger than I expected, Chen thought. Maybe in part because his hair is cut a bit longer than the current business fashion. Quite handsome, too.
Pan took the piece of paper in front of him, moved his pen in a way that Chen guessed correctly meant he was signing it, and then placed it in the tray to his right.
Then he looked up and gave Chen a brilliant smile that made her think Pan was either genuinely pleased to see her or a world-class actor.
"Ms. Chen!" Pan exclaimed. "I'm so glad you could come!"
Then he bounded forward from his desk to her side so quickly that she was taken aback on several levels.
Chinese businessmen didn't "bound" anywhere. Because they would consider it undignified for a start. And because, like their Western counterparts, few were in the physical shape required for more than, at best, a brisk walk.
Chen could see at a glance that Pan's suit and shoes cost more than she made in a year. But they were cut to let him move like an athlete.
The next surprise was Pan's arm around her shoulders, propelling her side by side towards the sofa and chair set occupying the office's center.
Oddly, it didn't make her uncomfortable. Why not, Chen wondered?
Putting one hand on each of her shoulders, Pan guided Chen to a seat in the sofa's center.
The table in front of the sofa held what had to be the most beautiful tea set Chen had ever seen. Including the many she had seen in museums.
Pan sat next to her. Shortly, steam and a wonderful aroma rose as Pan went through the tea ceremony's familiar steps.
Minutes later, a fresh cup of tea was warming her hands, and its delicious taste had led her to one conclusion.
Nobody who made tea this good could be all bad.
Chen's involuntary sigh of pleasure brought an even broader smile to Pan's face.
"It's my favorite blend! I'm so glad you enjoy it! Now, first, I must thank both you and Ms. Tang for your contributions to Forward. I have decided that you, in particular, are ready to advance to our leadership ranks," Pan said.
So, that's why his touch didn't raise any alarm, Chen thought. I'd felt that it expressed comfort and affection, not anything sexual. Of course, he knows about Tang she thought, and briefly felt embarrassed.
Then that feeling disappeared as Chen remembered plenty of men who had made unwanted advances despite knowing about Tang. A few times, while Tang had been in the same room.
"There is a great deal I need to tell you in the short time we have. But don't hesitate to stop me if I say anything you don't understand. I'll start with a question. What is the greatest threat to the freedom of the Chinese people?" Pan asked.
Chen was startled by the question. Its answer was the only thing that united all the people she knew fighting against Party tyranny.
"The Communist
Party," she said, making no effort to hide from her tone that she thought the question itself was puzzling.
Pan heard it and smiled. "Yes, what could be worse?" he asked softly.
Then Pan paused.
"What about military rule?" he asked quietly.
Chen frowned and shook her head. "Aren't the Party and the military one and the same? As Tiananmen showed, the military will stop at nothing to keep the Party in power."
"That was once true," Pan said with a nod. "But Tiananmen happened decades ago. The military is many times more powerful than it was then. In 1989 their annual budget was under twenty billion American dollars. It is now about three hundred billion."
Chen shrugged. "Guns and tanks are not enough to rule. Yes, tanks rolled over protesters at Tiananmen. But the real reason the Party remained in power was that most people believed they could deliver prosperity and feared democracy would unleash chaos. The military has no legitimacy, and without it cannot control a country with over a billion people."
Pan clapped his hands softly. "Excellent! You are right! But what if the Party appeared to remain in control, while the military was calling the shots behind the scenes?"
Chen cocked her head, trying to follow. "How would that work?" she asked. "And couldn't you stop it simply by alerting the Party to the danger?"
Pan sighed and said, "Both of your questions are good ones, and the answer to both is linked. We don't know enough to answer the first question fully. And until we do, any warning could do more harm than good. We might just alert the military plotters and make them postpone their plans, this time with improved preparations that may be impossible to stop."
"But you know at least some details about the military's plans. Isn't there anything we can do?" Chen said with obvious frustration.
Pan smiled. "We already have, with your help. The stock market investigation will reveal that some who made the greatest profits were certain Generals. They will protest their innocence, and in this case, they will be telling the truth. But once State Security begins a detailed investigation, they may uncover the plot's details independently. At a minimum, they will probably remove everyone suspected from command."
"And at maximum, execute them to be sure they don't pose a threat to Party rule," Chen said.
"Yes. But don't think this means the viper's nest will be fully cleansed. Adding funds to purchase suspect stocks on behalf of Generals with existing accounts on the Exchange was a simple matter. However, several of the Generals we believe are plot leaders don't have stock accounts. They will remain untouched," Pan said.
"So for now, we try to learn more about the military's plans while continuing to fight against Party control," Chen said flatly.
"Just so," Pan said with a smile. "Now, you spoke a moment ago about legitimacy. What has the Party done to earn it?"
Chen frowned. "Well, people like my parents give the Party credit for China's transformation from a poor country of farmers to a far richer country that manufactures more goods than any other."
"Well, don't you?" Pan asked, looking at Chen with a new intensity.
Chen could see her answer was important to Pan, but she had no idea why.
Chen didn't hesitate and said what she believed to be the truth. "China's economic miracle was produced despite the Party, not because of it. For thousands of years, the Chinese people have believed in the importance of family, education, and hard work. For most of human history, China's civilization outpaced progress anywhere else on the planet."
Pan interrupted Chen, who clearly had more to say, with a question.
"But your parents grew up in a China that was poor and agrarian. Why not give the Party credit for progress since then?"
Chen shook her head impatiently. "Some of China's problems were her own doing, especially civil wars and our failure to explore the world outside our borders. When first the British and then the Japanese attacked, we were weak and easy prey. The Japanese were only pushed out of China because the Americans defeated them. Another civil war between the Communists and the Nationalists cost us Taiwan, which is a separate country to this day. And what's more, a country that highlights the Party's failures."
Pan leaned forward. "How so?" he asked quietly.
"Taiwan had little in the way of natural resources or infrastructure when the Nationalists fled there in 1949. Yet today it ranks fifteenth richest in the world with a gross domestic product per capita of over twenty-five thousand American dollars, greater than Portugal's. China's GDP per capita is still under nine thousand dollars, less than Mexico's. I say that's because of the Party's repeated blunders," Chen said hotly.
Pan nodded. "Tell me what you consider the Party's greatest mistakes."
"The so-called 'Great Leap Forward' led to the deaths of as many as fifty-five million Chinese citizens by famine in the late 50s and early 60s, by far the greatest number to die of hunger in human history. Next, the Cultural Revolution killed as many as twenty million through a combination of massacres, individual executions, famine, and dam collapses. The Party's hands are coated with so much blood they can never be washed clean," Chen said, her eyes glittering with fury.
Pan held up both hands. "But wait. Even the Party has admitted responsibility for the failure of sixty-two dams due to Typhoon Nina in 1975, of which the largest was the Banqiao Dam. And that as many as a quarter-million Chinese citizens died due to the dam collapses, and about seven million homes were destroyed in history's greatest manmade disaster. But don't you give the Party any credit for all that has been built since?"
"Like the Three Gorges Dam? Which, when it collapses, will make the floods unleashed by the Banqiao Dam collapse look like a gentle shower?" Chen hissed.
Pan nodded. “So, you were not comforted by the arrest and swift trial of the Xiluodu Dam‘s manager? Or his subsequent execution? Even though by his actions, he certainly put the Three Gorges Dam at risk?”
Chen shook her head vigorously. “The Party executes people for reasons good and bad as easily as I blow my nose. That’s the first thing we have to stop after the Second Revolution.”
“The same fate appears to await the two managers arrested for shutting down the Qinshan nuclear power plant. That cut power for a while right here in Shanghai. Do you feel the same way about them?” Pan asked.
Chen looked at Pan incredulously. “You think I’d like to see those men executed just because I was inconvenienced? Anyway, there’s another version of what happened at Qinshan circulating via Gateway. Plant workers at Qinshan are saying the men the Army arrested were heroes who prevented another Fukushima disaster.”
Pan nodded. “Yes, I saw that too. But for now, at least, most people will believe the Army’s claim that they are the ones to be thanked for avoiding catastrophe. Because first, the lights are back on. And second, people mostly believe what they see on their television screen. Where they saw two men the reporter said were guilty being arrested by the Army.”
Pan paused. "Very well. You've convinced me the Party isn't fit to rule, and you certainly don't seem eager to be ruled at gunpoint by the military. So, what government would you see in its place?"
Chen looked genuinely startled by the question. "That will be up to the people, after free elections. Everything in our movement's manifesto, as well as Forward's charter, says so."
"Yes. The activists you led before joining Forward all believe in democracy. And so does everyone in Forward, including me. But I'm asking you a more complicated question. A constitution will be drafted. The people will vote. Then, who will be in charge?" Pan asked.
Chen frowned. "I'm not naïve. I know many revolutions that started with high ideals, like the French Revolution in 1789 and the Russian Revolution in 1917, ended in failure. I believe our own Chinese Revolution, which ended with Communist victory in 1949, was an even greater disaster. But the Second Chinese Revolution will be different."
"I'm sure you're right," Pan said, with a smile Chen found very irritating. "First, tell me w
hy you call it the Second Chinese Revolution. After all, there have been many in our history."
"Of course, there have been many," Chen replied. "But if you talk about 'the Revolution' with anyone alive today, they will understand you to mean the Communist takeover in 1949. This will be the next revolution since then. So, I am not the only one to describe what we plan as 'the Second Chinese Revolution.' It's even called that in Forward's charter."
Pan nodded and slowly clapped his hands. "Good. You have not only read our charter but understood one of its most important points. Now, tell me how the Second Revolution will be different than the first."
"Leaders like you and me won't get power just because we helped cause the Second Revolution. People will have to vote to put us in office, and anyone who has different views than ours will be free to stand for election," Chen said.
Pan nodded. "Well, that will make a change. Does 'different views' include Communists?"
"Yes," Chen said immediately. "East Germany's Communists ran for office in free elections after Germany was reunified. They did very poorly. I don't think ours will do any better."
"Let's say you're right. We've talked about the Party and the military. Who else holds power in China today?" Pan asked.
Chen looked slowly and deliberately around Pan's immense, well-furnished office. She let her gaze linger on its museum-quality art and statuary, placed at tasteful intervals within its expanse.
Then Chen looked at Pan and silently raised her right eyebrow.
Pan laughed. "Yes, the rich. The ones who are still here, anyway."
Chen nodded. "I've heard that many have gone to countries like America and Canada. But surely the numbers aren't high enough to matter."
Pan shrugged. "I'm not surprised you think so since the Party works hard to deliver that message. But in reality, over ten thousand American dollar millionaires flee China every year."
Chen stared at Pan in disbelief. "But doesn't the government try to stop them? Or at least, stop them from leaving with all their money?"
