| Abstract: | The Xiamen case, as well as several other high-profile corruption cases uncovered at the end of the 1990s, signals a new trend in collective corruption whereby private companies, entrepreneurs and organized crime groups now play an important role in initiating and coordinating networks of criminal activity. This article uses the concept of collective corruption to examine the smuggling empire built up by the entrepreneur, Lai Changxing, the network of state-owned enterprises and officials that supported and protected his smuggling operations, and the central government's crackdown. It concludes with a discussion of two other major corruption scandals, and what they say about the nature and extent of collective corruption in China. I argue that these recent cases show that corruption in China has evolved into more sophisticated, complex and destructive forms that resemble the more extreme forms of corruption found in post-communist countries where corrupt networks have been able to infiltrate and take over state institutions. |
