當薄熙來於1993年接任大連市長之時，他選擇了承擔風險。當時，大連並沒有太多優點可以幫助他的職涯，因此，他提出了具有高度政治風險的想法：大力吸引日本投資。
薄熙來為日本投資者推出特別優惠，並成立開發區和高科技園區。風險最大的或許就是，他讓自己成為吸引日本投資的代表人物，親自與任何造訪大連的日本一流企業總裁會面。這樣的策略奏效了，成千上萬日本企業在大連建立業務，其中還包括許多高科技和軟體公司。
薄熙來的早期盟友表示，他深知，如果想爬上高位，得靠大規模開發和優秀的經濟成長吸引目光才行。他相信，大連對日語和日本文化的了解，非常適合日本企業來此投資。
他並不擔心與過去的敵人作生意可能會引發政治問題。日本與大連之間的飛航時間不到兩小時，中國的勞動力低廉，新基礎建設和建築計劃可創造成本效益，而且大連還能讓日本人感到些許家的舒適感。
舒 適感不僅限於商業。就算到了今天，大連仍舊是日本商務人士周末休閒的好去處，他們可以在豪華渡假村打都有情人，這已是公開的秘密。在大連的華美達酒店吃早 餐，會讓一般旅客有種地理錯置之感。這裡不是日本，只是感覺起來很像日本；餐桌坐滿了日本商務人士，服務人員也全都會說日語。而在大連，還有許多地方都帶 有這樣濃厚的日本氣息。
日本佔領大連長達40年，以大連作為日本和中國之間的主要交易港。蘇聯掌管大連5年之後，才將大連交還中國，但大連 仍舊與日本保有深厚的關係。直到90年代初期薄熙來上任，大連才知道該如何利用這樣的關係。意外的是，中國近年諸多反日示威之中，大連並未成為目標；今 日，外國投資仍佔大連GDP相當一大部分，除了日本企業之外，英特爾等全球巨人也都有在大連設廠。
薄熙來卸下大連市長一職之後，仍舊與大連保有緊密的關係，日本企業的投資熱潮依舊持續。但大連有些人擔心，目前的市長李萬才選擇不與任何人會面、成本上升，對大連也沒有好處。這是否表示，如果薄熙來得以升至高位，他可能會是中國領導階層唯一的親日力量？曾與薄熙來合作過的日本商人表示，並不見得；他是個狡滑又精於政治算計的人，若他真正坐上高位，很有可能會對日本變得十分嚴厲。（黃維德譯）
薄熙來為日本投資者推出特別優惠，並成立開發區和高科技園區。風險最大的或許就是，他讓自己成為吸引日本投資的代表人物，親自與任何造訪大連的日本一流企業總裁會面。這樣的策略奏效了，成千上萬日本企業在大連建立業務，其中還包括許多高科技和軟體公司。
薄熙來的早期盟友表示，他深知，如果想爬上高位，得靠大規模開發和優秀的經濟成長吸引目光才行。他相信，大連對日語和日本文化的了解，非常適合日本企業來此投資。
他並不擔心與過去的敵人作生意可能會引發政治問題。日本與大連之間的飛航時間不到兩小時，中國的勞動力低廉，新基礎建設和建築計劃可創造成本效益，而且大連還能讓日本人感到些許家的舒適感。
舒 適感不僅限於商業。就算到了今天，大連仍舊是日本商務人士周末休閒的好去處，他們可以在豪華渡假村打都有情人，這已是公開的秘密。在大連的華美達酒店吃早 餐，會讓一般旅客有種地理錯置之感。這裡不是日本，只是感覺起來很像日本；餐桌坐滿了日本商務人士，服務人員也全都會說日語。而在大連，還有許多地方都帶 有這樣濃厚的日本氣息。
日本佔領大連長達40年，以大連作為日本和中國之間的主要交易港。蘇聯掌管大連5年之後，才將大連交還中國，但大連 仍舊與日本保有深厚的關係。直到90年代初期薄熙來上任，大連才知道該如何利用這樣的關係。意外的是，中國近年諸多反日示威之中，大連並未成為目標；今 日，外國投資仍佔大連GDP相當一大部分，除了日本企業之外，英特爾等全球巨人也都有在大連設廠。
薄熙來卸下大連市長一職之後，仍舊與大連保有緊密的關係，日本企業的投資熱潮依舊持續。但大連有些人擔心，目前的市長李萬才選擇不與任何人會面、成本上升，對大連也沒有好處。這是否表示，如果薄熙來得以升至高位，他可能會是中國領導階層唯一的親日力量？曾與薄熙來合作過的日本商人表示，並不見得；他是個狡滑又精於政治算計的人，若他真正坐上高位，很有可能會對日本變得十分嚴厲。（黃維德譯）
The fallen leader's legacy in Dalian
Bo Xilai's Japanese history
By The Economist
From The Economist
Published: August 30, 2013
From The Economist
Published: August 30, 2013
Aug 29th 2013, 1:23 by K.M. | DALIAN
BO XILAI is no stranger to risk. He was once among China's highest ranking officials, and if Chinese prosecutors are to be believed, he played footloose with the law for years, engaging in bribery, corruption and abuse of power. His dramatic trial ended this week and he is likely soon to be found guilty. Prosecutors have calledfor "no leniency" to be shown in his sentencing.
When the ambitious Mr Bo took over as mayor of Dalian in 1993, he also took risks. Then a sleepy backwater, Dalian had few attributes he could use to boost his career. He seized on an idea that was potentially politically dangerous: heavily courting investment from the city's former occupier, Japan.
Mr Bo set up special incentives for Japanese investors and built a development zone and high-tech park. Perhaps riskiest of all, he made himself available and became the public face of the effort to woo Japanese investment. If a president of a company from the top tier of Japan's stock market visited Dalian, Mr Bo would meet him personally. The strategy worked.Thousands of Japanese companieshave set up operations in Dalian, including many leading high-tech and software firms.
Confederates of Mr Bo from the early days say he knew that in order to move up the political ladder, he needed to get noticed with large-scale development and robust economic growth. Mr Bo believed Dalian's long-standing knowledge of Japanese language and culture made the city a natural fit for Japanese businesses, particularly those in the high-tech sector.
He was unconcerned about the possible political ramifications of doing business with a former enemy—one still unwelcome to many after the occupation 50 years earlier. Mr Bo was determined to persuade Japan that Dalian was open for business, while Korean investment flowed to Qingdao, further south. "There was a lot of empty land and he was ordered to fill the buildings," recalls a Japanese businessman who has worked in Dalian since Mr Bo's tenure. "He desperately wanted to return to Beijing one day, so he decided to fill the buildings one-by-one with foreign investment," he says.
Japan, less than two hours away by aeroplane, was a natural source of the investment Mr Bo wanted. Labour in China was cheaper and new infrastructure and construction projects promised cost-effective operations together with some of the comforts of home.
Those comforts went beyond business. Even today, Dalian is a weekend getaway for Japanese businessmen who want to play golf at one of the seaside city's luxury resorts and to while away the evenings with pretty local girls at the many Japanese-style karaoke parlours. It is an open secret that many Japanese businessmen have local long-term girlfriends in Dalian.
Breakfast at Dalian's Ramada Plaza Inn might leave a casual guest confused about geography. This is not Japan; it only feels that way. The tables are full of Japanese businessmen, quietly eating their morning noodles or chatting with colleagues about business deals. The service staff, all of whom speak Japanese, stand back from the tables, avoiding the ubiquitous hover of Chinese restaurants. But the Ramada Plaza Inn is not an isolated pocket in Dalian; many establishments cater to Japanese tastes and the entire city remains a major draw for Japanese businesses and pleasure-seekers.
Dalian's relationship with Japan began violently, as Japan forged its way toward creating a new nation with territory in China. For 40 years until 1945, Japan controlled the city, using it as the main trading port between China and Japan. The Soviet Union then took over for five years before turning it back over to China, but those long-standing links with Japan left a legacy in Dalian.
It was not until the early 1990s and the arrival of Mr Bo that the city figured out how to put those links to use. Intriguingly, Dalian's Japanese vibe has not made it a target during the many anti-Japan protestsin China in recent years. Today, foreign investment accounts for a large share of Dalian's GDP. In addition to Japanese firms such as Canon, Toshiba and Mitsubishi, global giants like Intel have also set up shop here.
Mr Bo left as Dalian's mayor in 2000, but kept close ties to the city as governor of Liaoning province (where Dalian is located), as commerce minister and even later, as party secretary in far-off Chongqing. In his trial, the charges against him dated back to his Dalian days, in particular the accusation that plastics mogul and billionaire developer Xu Mingbribed him. The two-storey headquarters of Mr Xu's Dalian Shide Group now sits vacant, his corner office empty of all but some scattered paperwork and a football jersey.
Mr Bo's legacy of bringing Japanese investors back to Japan does remain. But some here are wary of the city's new leadership, saying the current mayor, Li Wancai, "doesn't meet with anyone," and that rising costs do not help matters.
Does all this mean Mr Bo would have been a lone pro-Japan force in China's leadership had he escaped his purge and risen to higher power? Not likely, former associates of Mr Bo say. The man is cunning and politically calculating, not necessarily pro-Japan. Had he risen higher, "there is a strong chance he might have decided to become strict with Japan," says the Japanese businessman.
©The Economist Newspaper Limited 2013
BO XILAI is no stranger to risk. He was once among China's highest ranking officials, and if Chinese prosecutors are to be believed, he played footloose with the law for years, engaging in bribery, corruption and abuse of power. His dramatic trial ended this week and he is likely soon to be found guilty. Prosecutors have calledfor "no leniency" to be shown in his sentencing.
When the ambitious Mr Bo took over as mayor of Dalian in 1993, he also took risks. Then a sleepy backwater, Dalian had few attributes he could use to boost his career. He seized on an idea that was potentially politically dangerous: heavily courting investment from the city's former occupier, Japan.
Mr Bo set up special incentives for Japanese investors and built a development zone and high-tech park. Perhaps riskiest of all, he made himself available and became the public face of the effort to woo Japanese investment. If a president of a company from the top tier of Japan's stock market visited Dalian, Mr Bo would meet him personally. The strategy worked.Thousands of Japanese companieshave set up operations in Dalian, including many leading high-tech and software firms.
Confederates of Mr Bo from the early days say he knew that in order to move up the political ladder, he needed to get noticed with large-scale development and robust economic growth. Mr Bo believed Dalian's long-standing knowledge of Japanese language and culture made the city a natural fit for Japanese businesses, particularly those in the high-tech sector.
He was unconcerned about the possible political ramifications of doing business with a former enemy—one still unwelcome to many after the occupation 50 years earlier. Mr Bo was determined to persuade Japan that Dalian was open for business, while Korean investment flowed to Qingdao, further south. "There was a lot of empty land and he was ordered to fill the buildings," recalls a Japanese businessman who has worked in Dalian since Mr Bo's tenure. "He desperately wanted to return to Beijing one day, so he decided to fill the buildings one-by-one with foreign investment," he says.
Japan, less than two hours away by aeroplane, was a natural source of the investment Mr Bo wanted. Labour in China was cheaper and new infrastructure and construction projects promised cost-effective operations together with some of the comforts of home.
Those comforts went beyond business. Even today, Dalian is a weekend getaway for Japanese businessmen who want to play golf at one of the seaside city's luxury resorts and to while away the evenings with pretty local girls at the many Japanese-style karaoke parlours. It is an open secret that many Japanese businessmen have local long-term girlfriends in Dalian.
Breakfast at Dalian's Ramada Plaza Inn might leave a casual guest confused about geography. This is not Japan; it only feels that way. The tables are full of Japanese businessmen, quietly eating their morning noodles or chatting with colleagues about business deals. The service staff, all of whom speak Japanese, stand back from the tables, avoiding the ubiquitous hover of Chinese restaurants. But the Ramada Plaza Inn is not an isolated pocket in Dalian; many establishments cater to Japanese tastes and the entire city remains a major draw for Japanese businesses and pleasure-seekers.
Dalian's relationship with Japan began violently, as Japan forged its way toward creating a new nation with territory in China. For 40 years until 1945, Japan controlled the city, using it as the main trading port between China and Japan. The Soviet Union then took over for five years before turning it back over to China, but those long-standing links with Japan left a legacy in Dalian.
It was not until the early 1990s and the arrival of Mr Bo that the city figured out how to put those links to use. Intriguingly, Dalian's Japanese vibe has not made it a target during the many anti-Japan protestsin China in recent years. Today, foreign investment accounts for a large share of Dalian's GDP. In addition to Japanese firms such as Canon, Toshiba and Mitsubishi, global giants like Intel have also set up shop here.
Mr Bo left as Dalian's mayor in 2000, but kept close ties to the city as governor of Liaoning province (where Dalian is located), as commerce minister and even later, as party secretary in far-off Chongqing. In his trial, the charges against him dated back to his Dalian days, in particular the accusation that plastics mogul and billionaire developer Xu Mingbribed him. The two-storey headquarters of Mr Xu's Dalian Shide Group now sits vacant, his corner office empty of all but some scattered paperwork and a football jersey.
Mr Bo's legacy of bringing Japanese investors back to Japan does remain. But some here are wary of the city's new leadership, saying the current mayor, Li Wancai, "doesn't meet with anyone," and that rising costs do not help matters.
Does all this mean Mr Bo would have been a lone pro-Japan force in China's leadership had he escaped his purge and risen to higher power? Not likely, former associates of Mr Bo say. The man is cunning and politically calculating, not necessarily pro-Japan. Had he risen higher, "there is a strong chance he might have decided to become strict with Japan," says the Japanese businessman.
©The Economist Newspaper Limited 2013
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