Chapter 264
Cai Zixiang was not secretive, sharing his understanding and knowledge of mainland politics with him like a teacher instructing a student.
"Guan Chao, first you have to understand one thing, the most important aspect of the system is ’power!’"
"But power is divided into nominal and actual power, direct control and delegated control."
"The larger the jurisdiction, the more dispersed the leader’s power becomes."
"Take Nanjiang Province, for example. The Provincial Committee Secretary is the top leader, but his power cannot realistically extend over an entire province. The top leader’s main role is personnel management; he can directly manage provincial-level officials, but he can hardly micromanage city-level officials."
Song Guanchao nodded; he understood all this.
What he didn’t understand was why Cai Zixiang was saying all this.
Seeing his confusion, Cai Zixiang continued, "As I said, power directly determines status and whether others respect and fear you."
"But what happens when a powerful leader steps back from the front lines?"
Song Guanchao said, "Out of sight, out of mind."
"Exactly, out of sight, out of mind," Cai Zixiang said. "The political arena is this brutally realistic: when you are in power, everyone fawns over you. Once you step down, no one remembers you."