“China is such a dark society.” Reflecting on his decades of living in Shanghai, the 80s generation Zhang Shengli, who has traveled abroad extensively and currently resides in Southern California, still feels a mix of emotions. What struck him the most were those Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials: many of them appear clean and proper on the surface, but behind closed doors, they have a soft spot for illegal activities like gambling, drugs, and prostitution.
Zhang Shengli, a native Shanghainese, was a senior certified stock market analyst at a well-known securities firm before coming to the United States in 2018. He has also worked at a government-designated procurement company, experiencing various social events. He himself has tasted the CCP’s iron fist for expressing opinions in WeChat groups.
“There’s no CCP ‘leader’ who doesn’t do drugs.” Zhang Shengli recalled a friend who accompanied a city “leader” for a night out, only to return and reveal that inside the leader’s briefcase, or in the belongings of their entourage or mistresses, there was almost every type of drug available, from cocaine to methamphetamine and ecstasy.
“Prostitution, gambling, and drugs, completely prohibiting them in Shanghai is impossible,” Zhang Shengli said. The method adopted by the Communist Party is to control these markets since they cannot eradicate them; furthermore, the CCP aims to maintain dominance over all aspects and won’t allow any force to surpass its own, hence the need to control the underworld. Privileged officials are closer to the source and naturally get the first pick of the spoils.
According to Zhang Shengli’s understanding, the drug market in Shanghai is controlled by the Shanghai Public Security Bureau’s 803 Brigade and operates on a basis of geographic zones. Although the CCP appears to strictly regulate drug trafficking, privately conducting such activities can lead to severe consequences, even possibly facing death by firing squad. This strict application of laws by the authorities is primarily to prevent others from encroaching on their tightly controlled drug market and monopolizing excessive profits.
“You see those celebrities, some of them gather together to do drugs. These drugs are often provided by government officials.” Zhang Shengli stated, “In China, even celebrities need connections; with so many beautiful and talented people in China, why choose you to be a star? These individuals may have various relationships with officials, whether it’s providing favors or benefits, and if officials believe they can control someone, they will nurture them.”
Drug use inevitably involves other illicit activities. Zhang Shengli recalled the years before he left for the U.S in 2018: “There were saunas on famous streets in Shanghai and inside five-star hotels.” These establishments have ties with local police stations and public security bureaus, as per his observations. In his residential area, he noted that “the leaders” of the local police station receive kickbacks from these illicit enterprises.
“These are not secrets; the common people are aware of it,” Zhang Shengli mentioned the scandal of “Shanghai Jin Wan Bathing Company,” a sauna near the Shanghai Sports Center that was exposed in 2017 for involvement in illicit activities. This establishment was among the top five in the bathing industry in Shanghai, with the owner believing they were well-protected, but they faced tougher adversaries than expected.
At that time, when the Shanghai Municipal Government wanted the owner to give up the property at half the market price, the owner, feeling well-connected, refused. Subsequently, the government dispatched police for a sudden inspection, leading to the exposure of bribery involving the head of the local police station and a police officer from the Xuhui District police station. Public records showed that this sauna made over a billion yuan in 13 months, serving more than 130,000 customers.
In 2013, Shanghai’s Higher People’s Court saw a scandal where the court’s chief judge, deputy chief judge, and five other judges were involved in a collective prostitution case at the Hengshan resort, a certified “hotel designated for party/government conference travel,” indicating the deep involvement of CCP officials in illicit activities.
“All illicit venues in Shanghai have shares held by the Communist Party in the background, requiring protection fees to be paid,” Zhang Shengli mentioned. If not for vigilant whistleblowers, the routine lifestyles of these officials engaging in illicit activities would likely have remained undisclosed.
“Gambling is also directly controlled by the public security bureau.” Zhang Shengli stated that the largest gambling venues in Shanghai are located on the upper floors of five-star hotels, with CCP officials also having stakes inside, offering various games like slot machines, baccarat, poker, and Russian roulette.
“Generally, it’s government officials who frequent these places,” Zhang Shengli explained. If directives are issued from above to crack down on gambling groups in Shanghai, they would typically target privately-run small gambling dens in suburban areas rather than high-end venues like five-star hotels.
These smaller gambling dens also pay protection fees regularly; hence, the local police stations often turn a blind eye. However, if there’s a directive to crack down on gambling, the police stations would visit these dens to demand protection fees; failure to comply may lead to the den owner being sacrificed. Zhang Shengli remarked, “This crackdown on gambling is all a show put on for the public.”
There are numerous instances that made Zhang Shengli feel the CCP’s darkness, with government-forced demolitions being one of the worst. One of his neighbors fell victim to such an incident, where demolition personnel stationed outside the property clashed with the elderly couple inside, who fiercely resisted eviction. Eventually, the demolition crew stormed in, forcibly removed the occupants, and razed the house with bulldozers.
“What can you do? If you go to Beijing to file a complaint, they won’t pay attention to you,” Zhang Shengli pointed out that the collaboration between the CCP and the underground is most rampant in forced evictions. With smartphones allowing easy documentation of such events, officials leverage the underworld to suppress petitioners, complainants, and others to prevent any negative publicity.
Prior to settling in the U.S, Zhang Shengli recounted how a restaurant-owning friend in Shanghai urged him to stay and work at his establishment, but he declined, citing the society’s darkness as the primary reason for his decision to emigrate.
In late March 2022, Shanghai enforced extreme “zero-COVID” policies, leading to a full city lockdown. His restaurant-owning friend was confined at home for 65 days without being able to step outside. Upon the city’s reopening, Zhang Shengli received a call from his friend: “Brother, I’ve booked my ticket; I’m also coming to the U.S.”