紅色賭盤 Red Roulette: Insider's Story of Wealth,Power,Corruption & Vengeance in Today's China (Chin.Ed)

沈棟 Desmond Shum/Zhou Jian (translated)
ISBN: 978-626-7014-96-7
Business Today Publisher
352 pag. paperback 15 x 21 cm 2023 (Traditional Characters)

As Desmond Shum was growing up impoverished in China, he vowed his life would be different. Through hard work and sheer tenacity he earned an American college degree and returned to his native country to establish himself in business. There, he met his future wife, the highly intelligent and equally ambitious Whitney Duan who was determined to make her mark within China’s male-dominated society. Whitney and Desmond formed an effective team and, aided by relationships they formed with top members of China’s Communist Party, the so-called red aristocracy, he vaulted into China’s billionaire class. Soon they were developing the massive air cargo facility at Beijing International Airport, and they followed that feat with the creation of one of Beijing’s premier hotels. They were dazzlingly successful, traveling in private jets, funding multi-million-dollar buildings and endowments, and purchasing expensive homes, vehicles, and art.

But in 2017, their fates diverged irrevocably when Desmond, while residing overseas with his son, learned that his now ex-wife Whitney had vanished along with three coworkers.

This vivid, explosive memoir shows “how the Chinese government keeps business in line—and what happens when businesspeople overstep” (The New York Times) and is a “singular, highly readable insider account of the most secretive of global powers”.

◤這是一本絕無僅有又極具時代意義的回憶錄，
講述一對中國企業家夫婦如何藉由結交權貴，將資產累積至數十億美元，又為何妻子會突然失蹤，並揭露中國紅色權貴家族與中國富豪共同攫取鉅額財富的內幕真相。◢

第二次國共內戰之後，沈棟身為律師的祖父有機會離開中國，但他選擇留下。不久，共產黨關掉他的律師事務所，查封他的房子。共產黨將他的家庭列為「黑五類」（地主、富農、反革命分子、壞分子及右派分子）之一，這代表他們永遠無法進入好學校、找到好工作。這意味著，沈棟也被迫要在歧視和貧困中長大。生在這樣不光彩的貧窮人家，沈棟倒有一個優勢，那就是「野心」。回顧這段歷程，沈棟的人生與中國蛻變為超級強權的過程，竟是如此相似。

沈棟在美國完成大學學業後，為了成就一番事業，以及抱持著建設祖國之理想，選擇回到中國經商。後來，他結識了聰慧過人、有強大事業心的段偉紅──一位在父權社會中，敢衝敢做的女企業家。同樣出身清貧、擁有相同目標的兩人隨後憑藉頑強毅力和傑出的商業手腕，成功與中共前總理溫家寶的夫人張培莉結為商業夥伴，使他們晉升為現代中國的富豪階級。他們不僅重新形塑北京的城市風貌，也在北京機場蓋了一座超大型的航空貨運物流中心。

▌在中國，權力是一切，錢算個老幾！

擠身中國年輕富豪之列的沈棟與段偉紅，也因此得以進入中共高層的社交圈子，近距離地目睹共產黨紅色家族不為人知的豪奢生活，和高官之間腥風血雨的內部鬥爭手段。

然而在2017年9月5日，當沈棟與兒子一起居住在海外時，他得知前妻段偉紅與三名同事突然人間蒸發。他們「被消失」了，留給沈棟和兒子的只有石沉大海般的寂靜，沒有答案。可是就在此書出版前夕，失蹤四年的段偉紅，突然來電了……

在沈棟決定提筆寫這本書的那一刻起，就知道他將與中共正式展開一場如「俄羅斯輪盤」的生死決鬥，而且也發覺自己已被中共當局盯上──他已立下遺囑，確保所有事務都安排妥當。

在此書中，沈棟揭發中國政權腐敗內幕，向讀者證實中國企業家們有多依賴「人脈」，以及檯面下進行的「關係」角力。

這本書，既是沈棟的故事，也是段偉紅的故事，儘管她無法親身講述。
「我就像是聖經故事裡的大衛迎戰巨人歌利亞，儘管中共政權是一個比歌利亞強大一百萬倍的龐然巨物。」──沈棟