From Tim Johnson’s China Rises blog:
With some regularity, I stumble across essays or reports on China with some detail or factoid that seems extraordinary – maybe even too extraordinary.
On occasion, I will try to do a little research myself. If I can’t substantiate the “fact,” I file it away in a mental category of dubious information. This issue came up for me again on perusing a fascinating piece in the April issue of the Far Eastern Economic Review. The article is titled, “Have all China scholars been bought?”
“We ignore the fact that of the 3,220 Chinese citizens with a personal wealth of 100 million yuan ($13 million) or more, 2,932 are children of high-level cadres. … 85% to 90% are held by children of high-level cadres.”
It’s a pretty extraordinary statistic. But is it true? I have my serious doubts. [Full Text]
