It's an ancient Chinese custom - squeeze! It's how some Chinese became rich and others, especially in the days of the British and other foreign trading companies during the 19th century, accumulated unimaginable wealth. These compradors, the middle men who dealt with the foreigners and facilitated trade, despite getting paid only a moderate salary by the foreigners, took their commissions all along the line from their fellow Chinese. Some equate "squeeze" to corruption. Yet compradors were the bridge over which all trade flowed. In Chinese eyes their various sources of income were an obvious result of the provision of sophisticated services and guarantees. There is little evidence that the compradors were essentially dishonest.Originally Posted by latintopxxx
One of the most famous was Sir Robert Ho Tung, a Eurasian who became head comprador for the British firm Jardine, Matheson & Co. (Mr. Jardine and Mr. Matheson having been largely responsible for persuading the British parliament of the need to go to war to enforce the sale of opium in China in the 1830s). In addition, he developed his own extensive commercial interests through the traditional Chinese way - his contacts, or guanxi. By the age of 35 he was estimated to be the richest man in Hong Kong. He was to finance the Xinghai Revolution which overthrew the Qing dynasty and facilitated the rise of Sun Yat-sen.
Ho Tung's descendants still live in Hong Kong where his children and grandchildren continued his tradition of philanthropy on a massive scale, especially in the areas of education and health. Hong Kong's squillionaires have always believed in the need to give back to their communities and their families' traditional villages and towns in China. I'm not sure present day Chinese squillionaires are so giving - other than to themselves!
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