从我的经历看社会主义制度对中国企业的伤害
刘宇
2022年我在江苏北部某市投资成立了一家小工厂研发设备，我在市区一个工业园租赁了一个五层楼厂房的二楼整层，招聘了一些技术人员，购置了必要的生产工具和办公设施，很快紧锣密鼓开始干了。当时之所以选择苏北，主要是因为苏北各项成本较低，同时有几个500强科技大厂在当地设厂，技术人员比较好招聘。 只考虑成本和人员招聘了，没多了解当地的经商环境，一步踩进了坑。
工厂开工后大约两个月，有一天厂里打电话给我说：街道办事处负责安检的来查安全生产，要求出具空压机和储气罐的安全证书。 我们那个是螺杆空压机，有正规证书，我让厂里的人找出来给对方看了，还填了表格、保证书之类的一堆东西才罢休。 本以为后面就没什么事了，没想到没过几天我在外办事的时候，厂里又打电话给我说：街道办事处的又来了，这次来了一大帮人。 我说：空压机证书不是给他们看了吗 ？我们也填了表，还要怎么样 ？ 厂里的人说：这次不是查安检了，是来查消防 ！ 我心想：既然是同一个街道办事处的，为什么不一次查完，非要分批来骚扰 ！因为租赁那个厂房的合同上写清了类似消防这类事情由工业园房东出面摆平，因为厂房是他们的，消防设施本来就应该由房东事先具备好，同时也要能通过消防验收，否则，厂房就不具备出租的条件。因此，我就给房东负责人打电话，他口头答应出面应付。本以为这件事也就过去了，没想到，几天后，街道办事处那帮人又来了，这次直接带来一份停工通知书，要求立即停工办理消防手续。 当时我恰好在厂里，我问那帮人：这个工业园里有其它企业，他们和我们租赁了同样的厂房，消防设施也一样，他们有没有通过消防检查 ？ 领头的一个领导模样的家伙说：人家都通过了检查，你们是新来的，必须办手续，把表格填了，费用交了，基本可以通过检查。 我问：费用多少 ？ 那个家伙说：按照你们这个面积和规模，至少十万元。我闻听吃了一惊，但事先和房东有合同，所以也就没多和这帮人啰嗦，把他们打发走后，我直接去找到房东，质问他们搞什么鬼，说好消防这类事由他们负责，为什么街道办事处的人一而再再而三的来骚扰。房东负责人一脸无奈的说：兄弟你有所不知，我们厂房早就通过了消防验收，街道办事处这些人就是来搞钱，你们付了钱就过去了，他们虽然要十多万，但是，你可以和他们谈。 我对他说：我不可能和他们谈，合同规定这类事情由你们解决，你们必须解决，否则，请退回租金，我们搬走，你们还要赔偿因此给我们造成的损失 ！说完，我转身走了。 这时，我意识到房东这家公司缺少诚信。
回到厂里后，我下楼找到一楼那个企业老板，问他是怎么解决的这件事，他说：“还能怎么解决 ？那些政府部门的人就是来敲诈的，我们是付了几万元解决的，工业园里的企业都是自己付的钱”。 具体付了几万元，他不愿意说，只说建议我私下和街道办事处的人讨价还价。 走到这一步，事情基本清楚了，房东是挖了个坑，表面上说负责，实际根本不管，政府部门那些瘟神来敲诈，都是企业自己花钱消灾。
回到楼上自己办公室，研发负责人来问我是继续干？还是等消防通过后再干 ？ 我说：不要管他们，继续干 ！没想到，几天后，那帮人直接带着封条来了，还带着什么《违反XX规定的处罚决定》，这个所谓的处罚决定书上主要是威胁、罚款等文字。这些人带着封条来，并不急着封门，其实，就是威胁，逼我们付款。等我赶到厂里的时候，那帮人正坐在那里抽烟，既不封门，又赖着不走，把封条和处罚书摆在会议室桌上给我看，逼我表态。 我见状立即给房东负责人打电话，那个家伙干脆不接电话了。这个时候我都怀疑是街道办事处和房东串通好坑我了，不管怎样，明目张胆的敲诈十几万元，我是不会付的。街道办事处那帮人看我也不是吃素的，他们中的一个人把我拉到一边悄悄的说：“你们刚来的，不懂这个，其实，你们可以找个中介帮忙办理，费用可以和中介谈”。说着，他让我记下一个电话号码，让我和那个人联系。然后，他和街道办那些人嘀咕了几句，领头的说了一些限期解决等威胁的话，扔下处罚书就走了。
我知道那个所谓中介一定是街道办事处这帮人的白手套，就是帮他们收钱的。但是，问题是这个事情本来就应该由房东解决，而不是由我解决。但是，任凭我和我们公司的人怎么打电话，房东负责人死活不接电话了，找到他办公室和住处，都说他去上海了，不知道什么时候回来。我知道这是故意回避，他们当地人串通好坑我的可能性更大了。 怎么办 ？ 钱都投了，员工也招了，设备开始研发了，明知有坑也要自己想办法填了。无奈，联系那个白手套中介，他给了一个地址，让我去找他谈，我开车跑去，上楼一看，就一个人一间屋一个桌子一套沙发，明显就一简易白手套。既然来了，谈谈看吧。一番讨价还价谈下来，价格从十几万谈到8万。他拿出合同让我签字，我说：“8万太高了，我准备把工厂关了，同时起诉房东了”。说完，我就走了。 回来后，我通知全厂员工放假几天，把工厂门锁了，厂里一个人也不留，全体放假。很快，没出一两天，中介打来电话问我考虑的怎么样了，我说：工厂已经被逼的关停了，正在找律师准备起诉房东。 当天，白手套打来第二个电话假惺惺的说：“你们也不容易，我和街道办负责人熟识，把你们这个情况说了，现在把费用降低到6万了”。 我知道拉锯战刚开始，还远没到松口的时候，因此我只说不行，我这个小工厂被政府部门逼到绝路上了，干不下去了。在随后的几天内，如此这般多个电话来回拉锯讨价还价，价格最终砍到2万元。尽管如此，我也始终没付这个钱，我很清楚政府部门那帮无赖就是敲诈，中介拿到钱就是分给他们。街道办的人来逼，就拿出租赁合同说这件事由房东解决，正在准备起诉房东，如果街道办继续逼我们，连同街道办一起起诉。 街道办本来就是来敲诈我们，他们应该是也怕搞出对他们不利的事，因此，他们嘴上还强硬，实际不得不把这件事拖延下来。后来不出一年，设备研发成功，但市场发生了变化，不得不折价卖掉设备，我本可以在这里坚持下去继续研发其它新设备，但是，在这里发生的这些烂事儿实在是让我感到恶心，无心在那里干下去了，干脆遣散员工，厂房租赁期不到就关门走人了事。一年算下来，设备研发加上厂房租金提前退租的损失，共损失了160多万元人民币（折合美元约24万）。
我在苏北的经历是中国众多中小企业日常遭遇的一个缩影，中共政府人员迫害百姓、压榨企业，归根到底，是社会主义制度劣根性的必然结果。查中国大陆的百度，什么是社会主义制度，答案是：“社会主义制度的目的是实现人民当家作主；基本要素：公有制、计划经济、民主；特色：党的领导制度是具有统领地位的制度”。实现人民当家作主 ？民主 ？真是睁着眼睛说瞎话，一派胡言 ！而“党的领导制度是具有统领地位的制度”这句话是露骨的实话，实质就是共产党一党专政。既然一党独大一党专政，谈何人民当家作主 ？！谈何民主 ？！ 中国大陆的乡镇政府和城市街道办事处是中共政府序列最低一级政府机构，作为所谓的人民政府，不为人民办事，反而利用手中的权利鱼肉百姓、敲诈勒索当地企业，他们哪来的胆子和底气敢如此猖狂 ？当然是一党专政给他们撑腰，而一党专政的根源是社会主义制度。 只反对中共最高领导人，希望他下台、希望他死，这些都没用，不从根本上结束社会主义制度、结束一党专政，谁上台都是一个样。因此，中国人民想要实现国家民主、人民自由，必须从根本上结束社会主义制度、结束中共一党专政。我们海内外中国人要团结起来，共同努力，争取早日在中国大陆结束社会主义制度，实现中国人民民主自由之梦想。
Liu Yu: The Harm of the Socialist System to Chinese Enterprises from My Experience
In 2022, I invested in establishing a small factory to develop equipment in a city in northern Jiangsu. I rented the entire second floor of a five-story building in an industrial park in the city, hired some technical staff, and purchased the necessary production tools and office equipment. We quickly got to work. The main reason I chose northern Jiangsu was because of its relatively low costs, and the fact that several Fortune 500 tech companies had set up factories in the area, making it easier to recruit technical personnel. I only considered costs and staffing, without fully understanding the local business environment—ultimately stepping into a trap.
About two months after the factory started operating, one day the factory called me and said that officials responsible for safety inspections from the local street office had come to check on production safety. They requested the safety certificates for the air compressor and air storage tank. We had a screw compressor with a proper certificate, so I asked the staff to show it to them. After filling out several forms and guarantees, they finally left. I thought that would be the end of it, but a few days later, while I was out on business, the factory called me again and said that the street office staff had come back, this time with a large group. I asked, “Didn’t we show them the certificate for the air compressor? We also filled out the forms—what else do they want?” The staff at the factory said, “This time they’re not inspecting safety; they’re here to check the fire safety!”
I thought to myself: since it's the same street office, why not complete all the inspections at once? Why harass us with multiple visits? According to the lease agreement for the factory building, matters like fire safety were the responsibility of the landlord, as the building belonged to them, and the fire safety equipment should have already been in place and passed inspection. Otherwise, the building wouldn't be suitable for leasing. So, I called the landlord’s representative, and he verbally agreed to handle the situation. I thought that would be the end of it, but a few days later, the street office staff came again, this time bringing an official notice demanding that we stop operations immediately until we had completed the fire safety procedures.
At that moment, I happened to be at the factory, so I asked them, “There are other businesses in this industrial park that are leasing the same type of building as us. Do they all have their fire safety checks completed?” One of the officials, who seemed to be the leader, replied, “They’ve all passed the inspection. Since you’re new, you have to go through the procedures—fill out the forms, pay the fees, and you should be able to pass the inspection.” I asked, “How much is the fee?” The man said, “Given your size and the area, at least 100,000 yuan.” I was shocked but didn’t argue further, as we had an agreement with the landlord. After sending the officials away, I immediately went to the landlord and asked what was going on. I reminded them that the contract clearly stated they were responsible for fire safety matters, so why was the street office harassing us repeatedly? The landlord’s representative looked helpless and said, “Brother, you don’t understand. Our building has already passed the fire inspection. These street office people are just here to extort money. Once you pay them, it’ll be over. Although they’re asking for over 100,000 yuan, you can negotiate with them.”
I told him, “I’m not negotiating with them. The contract states clearly that this is your responsibility. You must take care of it. Otherwise, return our rent, and we will move out. You will also have to compensate us for the losses we’ve incurred!” With that, I turned and left. At that moment, I realized that this landlord lacked integrity.
After returning to the factory, I went downstairs to the owner of the business on the first floor and asked him how he dealt with that issue. He said, "What else can you do? Those government officials are just here to extort money. We paid tens of thousands to settle it. All the companies in the industrial park had to pay by themselves." He didn’t want to specify exactly how much he had paid, but advised me to privately negotiate with the street office staff.
At this point, the situation was pretty clear. The landlord had set a trap: he claimed to take responsibility, but in reality, he did nothing. The government officials came to extort money, and it was up to the businesses to pay to avoid trouble.
Back in my office upstairs, the head of R&D came to ask whether we should continue working or wait until the fire safety procedures were completed. I said, "Don’t worry about them, just keep working!" I didn’t expect that a few days later, those people would come directly with a seal, along with a “Notice of Penalty for Violating XX Regulations.” This so-called penalty notice was full of threats and mentions of fines. They came with the seal but weren’t in a hurry to shut us down—it was clearly a threat to force us to pay up.
When I arrived at the factory, they were sitting there smoking, not sealing the door but refusing to leave. They placed the seal and the penalty notice on the conference room table for me to see, trying to force me to take a stand. Seeing this, I immediately called the landlord’s representative, but this time, he simply didn’t answer. By now, I was beginning to suspect that the street office and the landlord were colluding to trap me. Regardless, I wasn’t about to pay the outrageous extortion of tens of thousands of yuan.
One of the street office staff, seeing that I wasn’t easily intimidated, pulled me aside and quietly said, “You’re new here and don’t understand how this works. Actually, you can find an agent to handle this for you, and the fee can be negotiated through them.” He then gave me a phone number and told me to contact that person. After whispering a few words to the other officials, the leader made some final threats about deadlines and left the penalty notice behind as they walked out.
I knew that so-called agent was definitely a front for the street office staff, just a middleman to collect money for them. However, the real issue was that this matter should have been handled by the landlord, not me. Despite my efforts and those of my staff to contact the landlord, the person in charge refused to answer any of our calls. When we tried to find him at his office and residence, we were told he had gone to Shanghai, with no indication of when he’d return. I realized this was deliberate avoidance, and it was becoming more likely that the locals had conspired to trap me.
What could I do? I had already invested money, hired employees, and started equipment development. Even knowing I was walking into a trap, I had no choice but to find a way out myself. Reluctantly, I contacted the middleman. He gave me an address and asked me to come and talk. I drove there, and upon entering the office, I saw it was just one person in a simple room with one desk and one set of sofa — a clear sign that this was a makeshift front.
Since I was already there, I decided to negotiate. After some back and forth, we brought the price down from over 100,000 yuan to 80,000 yuan. He took out a contract for me to sign, but I said, “80,000 is still too high. I’m planning to shut down the factory and sue the landlord.” With that, I left.
When I returned, I informed the entire staff to take a few days off, locked the factory, and left no one inside. The whole factory was on holiday. In just a day or two, the middleman called to ask if I had reconsidered. I told him, "The factory has been forced to shut down, and we’re preparing to sue the landlord." That same day, the middleman called again, pretending to be sympathetic, saying, "You’re in a tough spot. I spoke with the street office leaders about your situation, and now they’ve agreed to lower the fee to 60,000 yuan."
I knew this was just the beginning of a drawn-out negotiation, and we were far from reaching the point where I’d give in. So, I replied, "No, that’s still not acceptable. This small factory has been pushed to the brink by the government. We can’t continue." Over the next few days, there were several more phone calls, and after a series of back-and-forth negotiations, the fee was eventually reduced to 20,000 yuan. Even then, I never paid. I knew all too well that those government officials were just extorting money, and the middleman would split the profits with them.
Whenever the street office people came to pressure us, I pointed to the lease agreement, emphasizing that this issue was the landlord’s responsibility and that we were preparing to sue the landlord. I warned them that if the street office continued to harass us, we would include them in the lawsuit as well. Since the street office was only after money, they likely feared getting into real trouble, so although they kept up the tough talk, they were forced to delay taking further action.
Not long after, within the year, the equipment development was successful. However, the market had changed, and I had to sell the equipment at a discount. I could have stayed and continued developing other new equipment, but all the trouble I had encountered here had left a bad taste in my mouth. I had no desire to stay any longer. So, I dismissed the employees and shut down the factory before the lease term was up. In the end, after a year, the losses from equipment development and the early termination of the lease amounted to over 1.6 million yuan (approximately $240,000 USD).
My experience in northern Jiangsu is just a glimpse of the daily struggles faced by many small and medium-sized enterprises in China. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials persecute the people and exploit businesses, which is ultimately the inevitable result of the inherent flaws in the socialist system. If you search Baidu in mainland China for what socialism is, the answer you get is: "The goal of the socialist system is to achieve the people's mastery of the country; the basic elements are: public ownership, a planned economy, and democracy; the characteristic is that the Party's leadership system holds a commanding position." The people's mastery of the country? Democracy? What a blatant lie! Nonsense!
The statement "the Party's leadership system holds a commanding position" is, however, a straightforward truth. It essentially means the Communist Party’s one-party dictatorship. With one-party dominance and dictatorship, how can the people possibly be in charge ? How can there be democracy? The township governments and urban street offices in mainland China are the lowest-level government bodies within the CCP's governmental structure. As so-called "people's governments," they do not serve the people; instead, they abuse their power to oppress the citizens and extort local businesses. Where do they get the audacity and confidence to act so brazenly? Naturally, it’s the one-party dictatorship backing them, and the root of that dictatorship is the socialist system. Simply opposing the top leader of the CCP, wishing for his removal or death, is futile. If the socialist system and one-party dictatorship are not fundamentally abolished, it won’t matter who comes to power—the outcome will be the same. Therefore, for the Chinese people to achieve democracy and freedom, the socialist system and CCP’s one-party dictatorship must be ended at the root. We Chinese, both at home and abroad, must unite and work together to end the socialist system in mainland China as soon as possible, and realize the dream of democracy and freedom for the Chinese people.