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The Atlantic has a fascinating essay from an American ex-pat hired for a week by a Chinese business, the only requirements being “a fair complexion and a suit.” Huh?
Officially, writer Mitch Moxley worked in quality control. But unofficially, he was there to look, well, American. Moxley describes how a Chinese company paid him and five fellow white dudes $1000 for a week pretending to be high-level executives from an American company building a factory in the Chinese industrial town of Dongying. The company doesn’t exist — nor do the deals Moxley and his friends eagerly describe to the Chinese workers. It’s all an elaborate photo op for local workers and Chinese officials.
Moxley says this is common practice in China; he was invited to re-up for another tour of no duty. The pitch? “Bring a computer. You can watch movies all day.” (via The Atlantic)