Understanding Corruption in China

Bai Yansong's (白岩松) 痛并快乐着 had a thoughtful account of corruption in China.

In 1997, the president of Yunnan Yuxijuan Tobacco Factory (云南玉溪卷烟厂) Zhu Shijian (褚时健) was arrested and sentenced to life in imprisonment for corruption.

Zhu first became president of the factory in 1979. Under his leadership, the factory's ranking soared from 40th to number 1 in the country. Its main product - the Hongdashan (红塔山) cigarettes - emerged not only as a household name, but also raked in mountains of profits from both domestic and overseas sales.

After Zhu was sentenced, his daughter committed suicide, his wife had to be watched all day (presumably to prevent her from committing suicide), and his son ran away from home.

Yet, as Bai noted, was Zhu's misfortune simply a case of personal tragedy?

Bai wrote: "No matter how outstanding an entrepreneur (of a state-owned company) is, he is unable to receive much monetary rewards or incentives. Are large doses of passion and conviction all that are needed to revive moribund SOEs? Are these in line with economic fundamentals? If Zhu was given a share of profits in the process of creating wealth for his country, would this tragedy have occurred?"