CHINA'S NEW SEX SYMBOLS
BY ISAAC STONE FISH
ASIA IN THE CATEGORY of the world's sexiest
politicians, China's dour communist apparatchiks1
would seem
to be far behind America's legendary ladies' men presidents
and Europe's bunga-bunga leaders. But a survey released in
December by the All-China Women's Federation found that a
Middle Kingdom mandarin is the top pick for an ideal partner
among Chinese women.
What's the appeal? (It can't be the ill-fitting suits.) It's
money, money, money. While government officials receive a
modest salary – well under $1,000 a month- they can usually
leverage their position for personal gain, often through shady
means. A corrupt vice district head in Beijing was recently
arrested for accumulating more than $ 6,5 million; in other cases
the perks have reached into the hundreds of millions. And even
for officials who aren't skimming off the top, a government job
(and the attendant legal perks) provides a level of security that's
quite desirable for China's marriage-minded ladies, especially
compared with a less stable position at a state-owned or private
company.
There's also the growing reputation of Chinese
government officials as a particularly virile lot. China's
state-owned press often titillates readers with tales of
bureaucratic sex scandals: in one major story last year, a
provincial tobacco-bureau chief's diary was leaked online, with
page after page of prurient details about his trysts2
with young
beauties (including fellow government employees). The public's
reaction was generally sympathetic to the cad. One prominent
blogger maintained the bureau chief was a good official because
he managed to spend some time with his wife despite the
womanizing, took less than $10,000 in bribes, and didn't visit
prostitutes. In other words, a real catch. In a survey on the
blogger's site, almost all the more than 100,000 respondents
thought the official should keep his job. That's sex appeal – and
popular appeal.
( Newsweek, February 7, 2011.)
apparatchiks1
: burocratas do partido comunista chinês
trysts2
: encontros secretos
De acordo com o texto, os apparatchiks são considerados