A Hong Kong newspaper has identified scores of "princelings" Ñ the offspring of high-ranking officials in China Ñ who benefit in business and government through their connections particularly in go-go Shanghai and the seat of power in Beijing.
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Deng Nan (right), a daughter of China's late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, seen here in 1989, has been vice minister for science and technology.
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The "New Name List of the Offspring of High-Ranking Officials: the 2004 Edition," was recently disseminated in China. It offers information on the network of social and family connections of senior officials and central Communist Party of China leaders.
The list, which was reported in the newspaper Ching Chi Jih Pao on Nov. 12, is must reading for both Chinese and foreign business interests.
Although Marxism-Leninim is the official state doctrine, Confucianism with its multiple and traditional rules governing relationships between authority figures and subordinates, governs the cultural matrix that allows life to go on and business deals to be consummated in modern day, "red capitalist" China.
The report, however, omits the family of Chinese President Hu Jintao, his wife Liu Yongqing and their son and daughter. The connections of Hu and his family are considered state secrets.
However, the list includes nearly 200 people, including Vice President Zeng Qinghong, who is the son of senior party statesman and former Interior Minister Zeng Shan. Many of the junior Zeng's brothers and sisters currently hold important posts in the Chinese military.
They include Zeng Qingyang, director of the History Department of the Academy of Military Sciences; Zeng Qingyuan, deputy director of the Logistics Department of the PLA Air Force; and Zeng Haisheng, Zeng Qinghong's younger sister, deputy director of the General Office of the PLA General Staff Headquarters.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also has two children who are in business. Wen Jiabao's son, Wen Yunsong, is now chairman of Beijing Unihub Company. His daughter is Wen Ruchun; and Wen Jiabao's son-in-law, Xu Ming, is chairman of Dalian Baode Group.
Deng Xiaoping has two sons in important positions, including Deng Pufang, president of the Chinese Federation for the Deng Zhifang and president of the Sifang Group. The eldest daughter of the late Deng is Deng Lin, a member of the Chinese Artists' Association. Another daughter, Deng Nan, is vice minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
