China Law Blog

Sex may be one reason of corruption but I think it is a narrow minded one. What about greed? Abuse of power? Low income?
Sex is everywhere not only in China. Does it mean that sex is less important in Singapore than in India or Japan? Is there more lust in Indonesia and Nigeria than in Sweden? What about my own country France where we are seen by the rest of the world as very romantic are we very corrupted?

For many of these officials, money is the only way they can get and keep women...as most of these officials are middle aged and you would not confuse their level of fitness with Jackie Chan or their looks with Zhou Yun Fa.

What is sadder and likely to become worse of a problem is that the woman shortage is past critical and solvable stage, so women can name their price for so little as a public appearance with a low ranking official (as long as they know that they are safe from physical harm).

Of course, the very senior provincial and national officials don't have this problem, but they are a handful compared to the legions of punters with small time titles and at best an official "East Wind" brand car.

I am almost afraid to comment on this hot potato, given that any response will remain embedded in the worldwide web forever and turn up at the most inopportune times, e.g. my daughter's teachers looking to see what her dad does for a living, or a button-down type wondering what's Platek's position on this or that esoteric legal issue. That fear having been admitted, I'll err on the side of stupidity, and continue.

From the little, very little (Did I emphasize, the little? Good.) I know of these matters, sex in China among rich and/or powerful men is almost as important as, but not quite equal to, the gestalt of maintaining sexually desirable mistresses. The abilities to attract them, to maintain them and to earn others' admiration and envy (both of men who want them, and women who want to be wanted by them), are intoxicating beyond the immediate satisfaction of physical gratification, with temporally longer and socially wider lasting effect. How a man deals with his mistress(es) reveals aspects of his personality which may spill over into his professional relationships, e.g. reliability, risk-taking, generosity, or their opposites, or somewhere in between. His peers observe how he acts in his relationships with his mistresses, and measure his worth in various regards. Keeping mistresses and wives all in harmonious orbit without collision is no easy matter, but it is the elusive goal, the achievement of which raises his stock immeasurably in his peers' view.

Given that mistresses can be expensive to maintain, the extra funds from corruption certainly defray part or much of the expense. But is "sex in all its guises" the key motivating factor for corruption? Not likely the key motivation, but once the funds are received, mistresses go a long way to helping spend it.

One wonders whether the feudal practice of a main wife, with concubines living under the same roof, wouldn't be more economical, or provide less incentive for corruption? Doubtful, unless everyone were more conservative in their spending habits, which is unlikely in modern China. Not easy to pull in one's horns (no pun intended) in this materialistic world.

The reappearance of mistresses is cultural rather than sexual. In some parts of the country, you're not taken seriously as a businessman or cadre unless you have a mistress or three. The sexual fulfillment is a distant second to their uses as status symbols. In the case of the former Shanghai mayor, the mistresses were also very useful accessories in moneylaundering.

If they were just looking for sex, they could have taken up with a country girl with little impact on their wallet. But trophy mistresses will cost more.

Sex and power are intertwined - I agree that sex is a strong motivating factor. Without it, our species would die. As for the post by China and I, the reason is China doesn't have true rule of law - Sweden, Singapore, France, etc do. If you say greed is the factor, then are Chinese, Nigerians, etc greedier than the French? Of course the answer is, people everywhere are greedy, and people everywhere desire sex. It's just the inconsistent application of law in China that allows these corrupt leaders to engage in these practices.

Astrid, some do take up with country girls, not just for the lower economical impact, and not just for sex, but to achieve the romance that was missed the first time around with "Mrs.", or because the high-flying prior trophy mistress was too expensive and, frankly, too much trouble. A number of those country girls then become the second "Mrs." when the first dies, or divorces "Mr." The cultural stratification in Chinese society is the hard part for the men to overcome, and how men deal with it tells much about their characters. The reasons different types of men seek, and stay with, or separate from, different types of mistresses make for a fascinating study.

"One wonders whether the feudal practice of a main wife, with concubines living under the same roof, wouldn't be more economical, or provide less incentive for corruption?"

Probably not, because wives can and do divorce now and can take a large chunk of the ex's wealth with them (but first they usually have to find it and there is a growing PI industry made up of former PSB and PLA intel people).

Additionally, western men are a new wild card. The official may keep his "golden bird" mistress at home, but when he is not around, she is out spending his money on her "english teacher" who is typically much younger, fitter and exponentially more virile. The wife, if good looking enough even at an older age, has the same option as well.

In a humorous side note, some foreign men have also taken to this practice of having mistresses in various towns that they travel to for business and guess who is keeping his woman warm while he thinks he is being sneaky with KTV chicks?

Thanks for the new iPod your wife me, dude ;-)

NH: Glad to read that you finally found one aspect of China you can enjoy. Makes all the other areas of criticism so much more bearable, doesn't it? :-}}

Yeah, easy, good looking girls with money took the edge off many times.

NH: Now you disappointed me. Unfortunately, you are consistent in your negativity. Hope some day you can see beneath the surface. Signed, Someone Who Has Learned.

Todd Platek, Esq.,

Thanks for your thoughts. In some ways, I am not surprised by your observation. Chinese marriages in that generation seems to be highly practical and unromantic. A little middle life romance with a buxom young thing does sound pretty good - though I wouldn't understate the psychological cost to the man's "first" family. I have some first hand knowledge about such arrangements and thinks very lowly of the men involved.

However, I am surprised that there is enough social fluidity for young rural women to be accepted as second wives for the man. It seems to be like there's too much difference in status and China continues to be a very status conscious society. I just can't see it happening in Shanghai or Beijing. Perhaps it's acceptable elsewhere, but in that case I suspect the second wives are also diminished in status to a plaything for their husbands and little better than a glorified concubine.

China and I,

Sex is, of course just one reason. Beyond reason though there also has to be opportunity. I would say the amount of sex is right in line with the amount of its corruption.

Bring back the eunuchs!