Recently a Ferrari reportedly going at a speed of 178 mph (285 kmph) was recorded on the radar of Atlanta police. It reminded of this incident little more than a decade ago.
One fine dawn in the year 2012 in Beijing, China a young man, just 23 years of age along with couple of his girlfirends was cruising at a very high speed in a Ferrari following a late night party. The kinky stuff they were supposedly doing inside the fast and fateful moving car led them lose control at the height of excitement (the first responders found their mangled bodies in different stages of undressing) leading to a fateful, fatal crash.
Nothing unusual in an age where many rave parties of young adults are followed by tragedies, except this young man was the classic case of a "PAISE WALE BAAP KA BIGDA HUA AULAAD" or the Spoilt Brat of a Moneyed Father. He happened to be the only child (China has strictly enforced one child principle since 1970s) of a powerful aid to then Chinese President Hu Jintao.
A frantic effort for cover up began, but it turned out to be a botched attempt as the news had already gone viral on the Chinese micro-Blogging sites. More infirmation about the government offcial was dug out. Chatters went around, how come someone with a paltry salary of about $2500 or about 1.5 lakh Rupee a month those days could afford a Villa with a Swimming pool at a posh Beijing locality and gifted a Ferrari to his son. (A person earning that much in a 2nd tire city like Bhubaneswar would be considered Middle Class these days). The bureaucrat's salary may be meagre, but not the money the bereaved father possessed through other means.
Iron curtain is gradually coming up in China, exposing its ugly underbelly. In spite of its success story, China is not immune to the disease of corruption, even though scores of people are hung every year in China on charged of corruption (in India they are at best suspended from their job).
But I like the approach of their current President Xi Xinping taking the Corruption Bull by Horn before it enters the China Shop. He has even earned a rare praise by Dalai Lama who isn't exactly a fan of Beijing. Some say, the Chinese leader is doing this to fix his political opponents and they might have a point.
Yet what is commendable is the pragmatic Chinese leaders known for their focused approach are doing something, rather than let the sleeping dog lie. Its authorities have followed hot in heels, going after those who have migrated abroad with money stollen from its coffers. This has led to a decline in the number of applicants to their equivalent of India's Civil services as it has lost its lustre because scope of corruption has gone down.
They have managed to get their hands on some who fled abroad with ill gotten money and extradited them back to China - which is something to take a cue from and replicate by other nations facing similar issues of their financial perpetrators absconding abroad.
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