A more lucrative path is through the resurgent local underworld, where gangs run everything from brothels to gambling and drug dens, social vices once wiped out by the Communist Party. But village elders are furious. Bribes are a must to do any kind of business. I'm ashamed to be a party member these days. When you say you're a cadre, people think you're no better than a bandit.
Locals openly curse officials in the streets.
Elderly women speculate over how much a certain new official paid for his title. If you paid for your position, you have to earn money from your investment. The official scoffs at the promise by President Jiang Zemin to stamp out graft. The same skepticism meets the central government's newest promise to stimulate the economy by lowering bank interest rates and increasing domestic spending on infrastructure such as roads and housing. And we certainly don't need more roads or houses.