Red Roulette: An Insider's Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption, and Vengeance in Today's China

Red Roulette: An Insider's Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption, and Vengeance in Today's China by Desmond Shum

Despite an "opening up" of capitalism, China is still ruled by an all-powerful communist party. The author details his experience working in the Chinese system. He was born in Shanghai, but later moved to Hong Kong, and eventually attended college in the United States. He was not the greatest student, but he did have some athletic experience. He was interested in business ventures and attempted to navigate the Chinese system. He met his wife who had similar interests. However, she was much better at currying favor with officials. They worked together on projects including an airport project. This project required approvals from a large number of different people and thus many relationships. 

The relationship process can be challenging in China. If a person falls out of favor, the relationship can fall apart, and possibly drag you down with it. Everyone risks falling out of favor with party leadership. A person that is a perceived threat could be accused of corruption and find themselves in jail. Spouses and children will often use their family relationship for personal gain - which can lead to the downfall of the entire family.

This book details some of the wheeling and dealing that is needed to survive in China as well as the problems with those that fall out of favor. Though the author had divorced his wife, they still remained on friendly terms. However, she eventually was seen as a threat to somebody in leadership and disappeared under suspicious circumstances. 

The rule of law seems to be the antidote to the internal schmoozing for favors in countries like China. But are things really that much different in the west? Much of business and politics is built on relationships. Those in power can help accelerate or delay approvals. There are more open rules and processes, but things are still not fully transparent. Often the "rules" can just be bent to help justify the outcome developed by the relationship. The problems still remain, though they are perhaps not quite as extreme as China.