Abusing social ties to cheat the State
Liu Yougui, former chief executive of Jiangpu county in Jiangsu province, resigned from his post several years ago to use his social relationships to make millions of yuan in land deals. Liu has now been sentenced to four and half years in prison. Social relationships can help people twist rules only because effective supervision is absent in the administration, says an article in Chinese Business View. Excerpts:
It is unusual for a young official with a promising future to quit his job and go into business. But Liu Yougui had his own plans. He used his social connections, which he had built as an official, to make more than a hundred million yuan in just a few years. This shows how much social networking is still worth in the Chinese society.
Some insiders have said that Liu used the help of the local land and resources bureau director to get land use rights even before paying the leasing fees. Which means he would not have succeeded in his dirty business without the support of his friend in power. In fact, it was his official connections that prompted Liu to quit his job and go into business without the slightest hesitation.
Social networking helps unscrupulous people take advantage of the loopholes in the laws and policies only because effective supervision is absent from the administration.
The way the local land and resources bureau director twisted the rule best illustrates the power of social networking in the absence of proper supervision.
Liu's case may be extreme, but the intimate relationship between social networking and power abuse is evident in other departments, too. So what is the true value of social relationships? It depends on the effectiveness of supervision.
(China Daily 12/02/2009 page9)
