Barry Naughton on the Families of China's "Eight Immortals"
Family Ties Pay Off for China's Princelings
12/30/2012
Jason Ou,
Straits Times
The families of the so-called "Eight Immortals" - the most influential Communist Party leaders in the 1980s and 1990s who pushed for economic reform after the death of Mao Zedong - are now prominent in the world of business, profiting immensely from the decisions of their forebears decades ago.
Bloomberg news agency last week released a massive report tracing the fortunes of 103 people, the eight party elders' direct descendants and their spouses, including those of paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. They are often known as princelings.
But China, which considers top leaders' family wealth a touchy issue, has censored the report on Chinese websites, according to the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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Barry Naughton is Sokwanlok Chair of Chinese International Affairs. He is the professor of Chinese Economy at the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies. His work focuses on issues relating to industry, trade, finance, and China's transition to a market economy. Recent research emphasizes on regional economic growth in the People's Republic of China and the relationship between foreign trade, investment and regional growth.
