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Back in the 1980s I was at grad school with Tony Cheng, a man who would later become a multi-millionaire in Hong Kong. I remember laughing at him when he told me China would become an economic powerhouse, lending billions to the United States government, buying up American businesses, and threatening American military dominance in the Far East.
I figured a communist country would never be able to embrace free market capitalism. I was dumb enough to believe that freedom and capitalism went together hand in hand, that you couldn't have one without the other.
Actress Joan Chen
Kill Bill star Lucy Liu
Coco Lee
Helen Wong
Olivia Munn
Fala Chen
Kiko WuCheap labor
Tony put me right on that. He said China would succeed by providing cheap, reliable labor that never went on strike and always did what it was told.
He said if I was looking for a foolproof way to make my first million, I should forget hawking my MBA to American corporations, drop the idea of practicing corporate law at Microsoft, or working in marketing for Walmart, and instead become an entrepreneur or venture capitalist in China.
He said the Chinese government and major Western corporations would have most sectors sewn up early, but there was one lucrative niche it would leave well alone because it conflicted with the prudishness of the ruling communist ideology. That sector was adult entertainment.
Adult entertainment would be worth billions in the Chinese market alone if you could only find away to operate under the radar, out of sight of the massive Chinese censorship machine.
It's no secret that prostitution is rife in communist China. Sexual services can be bought at any tourist hotel, bar, or restaurant.
Prostitution is not legal, but the authorities turn a blind eye to it. In fact, they are probably in on the act. Party officials at all levels are more than willing to pay for the services they require.
Mainland China itself is full of Russian and North Korean women plying their trade in ways that are tolerated by the regime, until those women become too successful and visible. Women are routinely returned to North Korea where an unpleasant reception awaits them.
Adult entertainment is a more unpredictable challenge than prositution. There's a love-relationship between adult entertainment and China's leaders.
Adult sites are blocked and unblocked at random, without any explanation why. At the beginning of June 2010, hundreds of adult sites were inexplicably unblocked.
Demand outstrips supply
Back when Tony and I entered the game, this would have been unheard of. Adult entertainment was striclty no-no. Demand was huge. Supply was a trickle.
Tony's plan, which he invited me to join, was to base an adult entertainment business out of the Wan Chai area of Hong Kong or in the former Portugese colony of Macau.
We would do our photography, fillming, and editing there, then find a way to get the product into China at a price that could be afforded on the mainland.
He said there was no shortage of local men and women to star in the movies and spin-off magazines, plus there was an abundance of local expertise in film-making, editing, marketing, and computers. There were even plenty of eager capitalists and rich guys willing to back the venture.
Rapid wealth
Tony told me that if I came onboard I'd be a millionaire within the first two years. He said I'd make five million within five years, and would be able to retire with 20 million dollars by the age of 40.
Getting to know China was fun most of the time, but there were a lot of bs-rules I did not care for, stupid stuff like never sit on a business card, dress conservatively, don't have a lot of women in your business group, and women have to cover their arms,
I'm from a place where I behave how I want and you behave how you want, and we'll meet halfway and understand each other.
I don't want to be told how to dress, speak, and act. And I don't want to waste hours and hours eating food and drinking booze in order to create the right business atmosphere. Just tell me what you want, and I'll get it for you. And I expect the same from you.
Strict rules
Everywhere you go in China, you're told nonsense like:
To maintain the public hygiene and civilized image of cities, sleeping outdoors is banned in such public venues as airports, bus stations, piers, sidewalks and urban greenbelts.That kind of lecturing and control is a big turn-off.
Also a turn-off were the many things Tony did not tell me about Hong Kong and China. He didn't mention the extent to which the adult entertainment industry of Hong Kong is controlled by the ruthless and brutal gangsters of the triads.
If you want to operate in peace, you must be willing to hand over a percentage of your earnings to guys who have no qualms about poking your eyes out if you upset them.
Many's the time I saw triad thugs beat the crap out of some poor guy who owed money and could not keep up the payments. You keep missing the payments, and you've got to be prepared to sacrifice your life to their cause.
Wild West
I was too young, arrogant, and gung-ho to worry about that. I felt like a pioneer in the Wild West, except I was helping to open up the Eastern frontier.
It didn't even bother me that so many Chinese people think of Westerners as loud-mouthed, ill-mannered clowns. I could be as loud and foul-mouthed as they expected me to be. I was playing a part, and I did not care.
My naivety came to an abrupt end when I was sitting in a Chinese cell facing a seven-month prison sentence for illegal business activity.
It happened because I was trying to involve some men and women from Guangzhou, on the Pearl River in southern China, in our business operation.
Chocolate City
Guanghzhou was of interest to us as one of China's most diverse cities, home of
Chocolate City, where about 100,000 Africans live, hoping to make their fortunes working in factories in the city.
We figured some of these Africans would be amenable to working with local talent in our movies and magazines. I had set up meetings with two Nigerian women who lived in the Dengfeng Jie area of Guangdong.
Anyhow, there I was minding my own business in a hotel room in Guangzhou waiting for a call from a contact there. Then the door is opened and in rush four guys yelling at me. I'm bundled out of the hotel into a van, off to the police station, and questioned.
I appeared twice in the Intermediate People's Court, which is the usual procdure for foreign nationals. The lawyer Tony provided was as good as useless, telling me I faced three years in prison for illegal business activity. Then I was told I could get out in seven months if I told the names of the people in China I was involved with.
That made me sick for a while because I could see those guys serving time in a horrible prison or even getting the death penalty -- and it would be my fault, but I felt I had no choice but to spill the beans. There was no way on earth I was going to serve three years in a dingy Chinese prison cell.
Prison food
As it turned out, I was sentenced to seven months in a comfortable prison where we were all prisoners. It wasn't a hotel, but it wasn't that bad. Food was good, there was no cruelty. We were treated firmly but with respect.
I got a better lawyer who worked hard behind the scenes and convinced be that Tony was doing the dirty on me, putting me and others in danger so that he could line his pockets with millions.
I had worked a year for him, had not made my promised million. I'd probably cleared about $100,000 and was having trouble mainting a good lifestyle.
Doors were closing on me, rather than opening. Bridges has been burned and I was very close to entering a life of crime. I needed a way back into civilian life.
I told the authorities every detail I knew about Tony's operation, the contacts in China, the corrupt party officials, the crooked Western and Chinese businessmen. I was like a faucet at full force. I just needed to be turned on and the information spilled from me like a torrent.
At the end of it all, I was escorted by prison guards to the airport and put on a plane at my own expense to London Heathrow.
I was so happy to touch down on British soil. My nghtmare was over. When the passport control office told me,
Welcome to the United Kingdom, sir, I wept for joy.
I went back to the States but found no happiness there. So I moved to Europe, traveled around a while before settling in London where I joined a small company trading with China.
No return
For obvious reason, I can't and won't go back to China, but I have considerable expertise to share and have helped my company sign some big contracts in the Far East.
I lost track of my old
friendTony. I thought he'd serve a very long prison sentence, but I found out he was thriving in Hong Kong, making millions in the gambling industry.
He never went to prison, even though many of his business colleagues served time. I guess he cut a deal, or he knew important people. He's one of those guys who'll always land on his feet.
I have no idea what's happening in the adult entertainment industry in China. I am sure it will loosen up one day. But for me, it's a question of onece bitten, twice shy.
By Jang Yesui
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