The Real Reason China's Super-Rich are Packing Up and Moving Aboard

[Celebriton]

The Real Reason China's Super-Rich are Packing Up and Moving Aboard
By Hua Ti
ECONOMIC OBSERVER/Worldcrunch
-Analysis-

BEIJING - Zhang Lan, founder of restaurant chain South Beauty, is one of China’s richest women and a symbol of the country's booming economic success. Thus it is not surprising that the recent news that the billionaire has renounced her Chinese citizenship to take on a foreign nationality has been met with some significant national soul-searching.

Though it is still not clear what nationality Zhang will take on (China doesn't allow for dual citizenship), her choice is part of broader trend of wealthy Chinese emigrating overseas.

According to the 2011 Private Wealth Report, 27% of Chinese entrepreneurs worth more than 100 million RMB ($15.9 million) have already emigrated, while another 47% say they are considering doing so. The number of these so-called “naked businessmen” is massive. The main reasons for businessmen emigrating are: their children’s education, protecting assets, and preparing for retirement.

Increasingly, the general Chinese public has grown aware of this dramatic trend. Last year, out of 5,000 investment immigration visas issued by the U.S., Chinese people accounted for two-thirds of them.

Undoubtedly, the most dazzling fact in all of this is that over 70% of China’s privileged have either emigrated or are on the way to emigrate. It is definitely not normal for 70% of a country’s wealthy class to want to leave the place where they were born and made their fortune. When we connect this piece of news to another study conducted a few years back in which it was said 80% of China’s wealth is in 20% of people’s hands, then it is easy to imagine the scale of the loss of China’s national wealth.

Apart from the immediate loss of national wealth, massive emigration will no doubt also shake the public’s confidence in the future prospects for China’s domestic development. In general, unless their riches were amassed by unlawful means, the rich are the economic elite of a country.

The choices of a country’s elite influence the emotions, judgment and decisions of ordinary people. When the rich pin the hope of their children’s education and retirement on other countries, it means that they have a pessimistic view regarding the improvement of their country’s education and social security. When people flee a country just to protect their assets, it’s further proof that they do not hold too much hope for the country’s rule of law.

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Read more:
http://www.worldcrunch.com/business-.../#.UMWleHh4OeY


I think this is very disturbing. I read the news too, that Zhang Lan, South Beauty restaurant owner changed her nationality. While before that, not long time ago, she cursed Chinese wealthy businessman who change their citizenship as traitors in HK TV. Quite surprising that she did it too.

What is going on?

[big-dog]

Most people around me are immigrating for children's education and better air. Those who immigrate to protect asssets normally received illegal income (i.e bribes/corruption income)

And this is not happnng in China only. All super-riches in developing countries are more or less doing the same thing for the same reasons.

[Celebriton]

But isn't according to PISA score China education better (except for university level)? Does they planning to retake China citizenship again after their children graduate from foreign university? Is China government still accepting them?

I wonder, how much personal tax in China? Doesn't these people ever think they will be double taxed for having business in China and being foreign citizen too? Nor think the future business in China will be not as smooth as before?

In my country, most of the super-rich took double citizenship to Singapore.

[Celebriton]

These people became an overseas-Chinese like myself.

People who live in China, are fascinating with the outside world. While people at outside, are homesick. Not all, but some. Even if not, sometimes that idea is passing for awhile in the brain.

[teddybear]

But they might go back too, because the reason is job... their work is in China.. imo.

[Naipesky]

Immigration of super-rich are common from everywhere to everywhere. In fact, sadly the super-rich are the only people in the world who are really free from borders.

Even cheap backpackers are not, having to run from immigration police.



If i was "FR€€" too, i'd love to pass some time (1 year at least) in many different countries, China included.

[teddybear]

It is true. Even one founder of Google has gone to Singapore to evade tax.

[tommy949]

Well, more Chinese people in America is great :d

[Celebriton]

Does anyone have a recent news of Zhang Lan, South Beauty restaurant owner? What is her nationality now? What is her explanation?

[Celebriton]

More Chinese to migrate, invest overseas: report
Updated: 2012-12-18 09:18
(Xinhua)

BEIJING - A report on China's migration status released Monday says more Chinese will migrate overseas in the coming years.

According to the Annual Report on Chinese International Migration 2012, the main factors driving such migration include a pursuit of richer educational resources, safer investment environments and improved quality of life.

The report, published by the Social Sciences Academic Press, noted that the trend is likely to bring losses to the country in terms of assets and talents, pose obstacles for China's supervision over non-performing assets and complicate the development of its substantial economy.

According to the report, there were more than 45 million overseas Chinese in 2010, the world's greatest population of migrants.

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Read more:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/busines...t_16027527.htm

I heard some people comment, it's easier to do business as foreigner in China than a Chinese citizen.

CCP.......

[CoCoMilk]

^ why am I hearing all the complains from European and American companies that there are restriction and limits in accessing the market and that the party show favoritism for native businesses?

[skyridgeline]

Originally Posted by Celebriton

More Chinese to migrate, invest overseas: report
Updated: 2012-12-18 09:18
(Xinhua)




Read more:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/busines...t_16027527.htm

I heard some people comment, it's easier to do business as foreigner in China than a Chinese citizen.

CCP.......

45 million overseas Chinese is a 'historical' number.

China still has plenty of talents to work with within its border.

Living and social conditions are improving for most Chinese but still have a way to go yet to compete with the best. I think China is in the beginning stage of a developement to create a living condition that may rival the best in the world for a large segment of the population.

Various foreigner ventures are obviously better competitively than the locals. Therefore, easier .

Originally Posted by CoCoMilk

^ why am I hearing all the complains from European and American companies that there are restriction and limits in accessing the market and that the party show favoritism for native businesses?

Certain types of ventures are not encouraged. And as one would expect, a number of locals with their local connections will likely create obstacles.

[Celebriton]

Originally Posted by CoCoMilk

^ why am I hearing all the complains from European and American companies that there are restriction and limits in accessing the market and that the party show favoritism for native businesses?

Because you read foreign newspaper. Where they already get profit billions of USD from China, at the same time still complaining for not enough.

The different between Chinese media vs foreign media......Chinese media encourage people to say enough and be grateful, even how little people get. Like an old man who live in the cave in China when interview by journalist. Honestly, from his cave, we can see how poor and miserable this old man life, how his entire life wasted so meaningless. But he said he so grateful to the party and Mao. He hang the picture of Mao Zedong in his living room, in the strategic location where he and everyone can easily see it all the time. Chinese media call this old man as finest citizen.

If I own a media empire in China. I will publish a lot of article about ungrateful. About how poor and miserable Chinese people are. It's time for Chinese people became a smart people.

The problem with Chinese officials is huge. When one of my family went to China, he asked for direction in mandarin to a policeman. The policeman shoo him with a very rude manner. But just after that, a foreign tourist ask direction and greeted with a very polite manner and smile.

[skyridgeline]

Originally Posted by Celebriton

...

The problem with Chinese officials is huge. When one of my family went to China, he asked for direction in mandarin to a policeman. The policeman shoo him with a very rude manner. But just after that, a foreign tourist ask direction and greeted with a very polite manner and smile.

He looked Chinese and does not speak like the 'locals' - in China, it happens.

[Heludin]

Reading the initial post I could say it is due to the prohibitions in China, such as double citizenship, if they had a choice to keep both citizenships it could work for the best of the nation and the people, just like the USA-Mexico-Canada, many of its citizens hold passports from both countries and there's no problem on that.

Education could be another reason but at the end as someone have said here, they will eventually come back to their roots, unless they're running away from bigger problems, then I would say let them go, China does not need people living as prisioners of their own government, or corruption.

Just a thought.

[Celebriton]

Back to the root of what? Many Chinese thought, their root are in the Confucianism, with identity from Fuxi Nuwa to HuangDi to Confucius. But these kind of things don't have any room today. Not because they are outdated, but because politically and ideologically, they are the enemy of communism. Confucianism (which is the symbol of entire Chinese civilization) is being defamed, by foreigners and by their own country.

It's true if there are some Chinese miss their root, in the world where there's no place for it. Some Chinese try to find their identity of their own people, reading their history, culture and tradition. Without being asked, try to learn Confucianism by himself from the internet.

Some of overseas Chinese, want to find a roof, home that they can depend on it. In the foreign country, where foreign culture are overwhelmed, we try to stay being "Chinese". We try to find something to depend on it as protection, but mainland China is not the place, as it's a communist who hate Confucianism. We are depending on ourselves right now, under a big pressure by the overwhelmed foreigners and fellow "fallen" overseas Chinese.

How many overseas Chinese move back to China in the last 10 years? Took China citizenship?

We try to depend on Taiwan, but Taiwan is struggling now, where DPP with "fallen" Han Chinese is trying to separate and create a new identity as Taiwanese. We try to depend on Singapore, but Singapore ruled by Christians who praised anything came from foreigners. We try to depend on HK, but HK was colonized by the British and later communist. HK today is struggling to resist any communist influence.

[Heludin]

Originally Posted by Celebriton

Back to the root of what? Many Chinese thought, their root are in the Confucianism, with identity from Fuxi Nuwa to HuangDi to Confucius. But these kind of things don't have any room today. Not because they are outdated, but because politically and ideologically, they are the enemy of communism. Confucianism (which is the symbol of entire Chinese civilization) is being defamed, by foreigners and by their own country.

It's true if there are some Chinese miss their root, in the world where there's no place for it. Some Chinese try to find their identity of their own people, reading their history, culture and tradition. Without being asked, try to learn Confucianism by himself from the internet.

Some of overseas Chinese, want to find a roof, home that they can depend on it. In the foreign country, where foreign culture are overwhelmed, we try to stay being "Chinese". We try to find something to depend on it as protection, but mainland China is not the place, as it's a communist who hate Confucianism. We are depending on ourselves right now, under a big pressure by the overwhelmed foreigners and fellow "fallen" overseas Chinese.

How many overseas Chinese move back to China in the last 10 years? Took China citizenship?

We try to depend on Taiwan, but Taiwan is struggling now, where DPP with "fallen" Han Chinese is trying to separate and create a new identity as Taiwanese. We try to depend on Singapore, but Singapore ruled by Christians who praised anything came from foreigners. We try to depend on HK, but HK was colonized by the British and later communist. HK today is struggling to resist any communist influence.

You have a deep understanding of your culture, sad to find out it's a struggle, 5,000 years of rich history being washed away in less than a century, I've been living in China for the last 10 months and I feel like I'm scratching an egg shell, whereas the people come and goes at will in and out of it, looking at foreigners and retreating back to their reality...that's what I feel.

Sometimes I also feel that corruption have destroyed any meaning to communism, capitalism although added a break to many people living under miserable conditions, it also brought a great division between the elite and the peasant, it was difficult to understand that people born in smaller towns are not treated equal as anyone born in Beijing for example, I had to scratch my head and let go.

As for Chinese nationals going back to China(family, hometown= roots), I don't know, my wife is Chinese, we lived in the USA then moved to Mexico, we're now in China, I've talked to other Chinese nationals overseas, they all dream of coming back to China and have a peaceful life, since life in the US is getting harder and harder; they never talk about communism nor Confucianism or any religion for that matter.

Thanks for sharing .

[Celebriton]

It's true, like your wife and many overseas Chinese in my country. Not many people talk about Confucianism anymore. This is the fact that Confucianism is in the brick of extinction to any Chinese and overseas Chinese community around the world.

If I had money, I will build a lot of Confucian school in my country, so overseas Chinese will not forget their culture and tradition.

[Heludin]

One question here about Confucianism, how would you incorporate the Confucian values into the new millenium, say for example, Mexicans have a mixed heritage, we have Aztecs, Mayans, Olmecs, Toltecs, etc...not many anymore, on the other hand we also have our Spanish heritage, which makes it hard to split the nation into two groups, we either forget about the past to keep up with an ever evolving society or go back to building pyramids and segregate ourselves from the modern world, in the process we lose everything we have, but this last option is far more complicated than the first one, because 100% of today's Mexicans(indian, spanish or mixed descendants) have never known anything better, we only know about our past through excavations and history books, leaving us empty handed in every way, the only viable option is to keep up with the rest of the world.

Mayans, Aztecs and other ancient cultures lived their time with amazing glory, so did the Babylonians, Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Great Wall and you guys made a come back, even Hitler had his day, but as you can see we are a relentless society, today's news are old news tomorrow, the Soviet Union is gone, so the USA will be gone as we know it, only aspects of each great society remains on the long run. In your case, China have so many advantages before deciding whether to keep running in a separate reality or join the rest of the world, your cultural heritage is not forgotten completely, traditions, arqueological sites, etc...so much to salvage, by the way if you do don't leave behind those amazing girls that melt my heart with a single glance.

I mean no offense here, but I see the future as a world, not as nations trying to impose their form of governments, languages, cultures and so on...the best we can do is to keep certain aspects of our past and let the world evolve to its pace. It's the hardest thing to do, because we know nothing better than what or who we are today, my kids one day will look back to my days and ask millions of questions about my vision of the future, they might think I was crazy, maybe they will understand my vision, maybe they will completely forget about it, who knows. Since I have no control over the future I guess all there's is left within my power is, be ready for tomorrow's news 'cause today is gone.

[Celebriton]

It's very easy. Chinese people are very religious, not to Buddhism, but to Confucianism. Confucianism is not completely death from Chinese society today, Chinese people still practicing Confucius teaching although they probably didn't aware it came from Confucius.

What we need to do, It's to build schools everywhere, teaching young overseas Chinese, to make them read Confucius teaching and listen the deep explanation. So when they grow up, they are not practicing blindly, but understand completely. We also teach them self-cultivating, moral value, politeness and manner. Chinese people today are rude, lack social awareness and very barbaric.

They also not learn just Confucianism, but also Taoism, Chinese history, Chinese literature and manner to give respect in Chinese temple. Including the history of Chinese heroes and Gods in the temple, what their deeds in the past that make all Chinese people respect them.

We also need to retold China history, including the imperial history, that have been twisted by the nationalist KMT and communist government.


Modern history what we know today, will not like this, without Confucianism. Confucianism contribute a lot to the democracy, socialism and human rights. Before there are such things, people call it as Confucianism. It's pretty sad to see young Chinese people today, praising democracy, socialism and human rights, while at the same time defamed Confucianism. It's time to told the true.