The Chinese communist regime’s Ministry of Public Security announced on June 10 that it seized more than 300,000 bottles of unauthorized “special” and “exclusive” liquors in the past three months, worth 890 million yuan (about $123 million). Some critics say Beijing’s recent ban on exclusive products is a way for the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to make a profit.
The Ministry of Public Security said on June 10 that it had cracked down on the unauthorized production and sale of “special” and “exclusive” liquor supplies under the name of the CCP and the regime’s agencies and the military, and seized more than 318,000 bottles of “illegal“ liquors between March and early June that are worth 890 million yuan (about $123 million). The authorities also disbanded ”48 cross-regional criminal gangs” that were allegedly selling the counterfeit goods and arrested 417 suspects, according to People’s Daily, the CCP’s official mouthpiece.
This incident follows Beijing’s recent ban on producing, selling, and promoting products using “special supplies” and “exclusive supplies” logos, as reported by state-run China News Service on May 8. The report also reposted a notice issued by the General Administration of the State Council and five other departments on “strictly prohibiting central and state organs from using logos such as ‘special supply’ and ‘exclusive supply’” issued in 2013.
“Special supplies” and “exclusive supplies” refer to the food, drinks, and other luxurious goods that the CCP exclusively gives to its elite members and are not accessible to the general public—this practice is known as “tegong.”
The CCP’s tegong system goes back to the Yan’an period (1936–47). In the 1950s, the Soviet Union helped the CCP establish the “special supplies” system and procure department to provide food, drinks, and daily necessities for the leaders and cadres, especially during the Great Famine (1959–61) and Cultural Revolution (1966–76) when China’s economy was on the brink of collapse under Mao Zedong. The quality and the quantity of the rations individuals received were determined by their ranks.
Ownership of such “special supply” products represents privileges and connections with the ruling CCP elites. Therefore, goods with the “tegong” hallmark have been the most sought-after in the Chinese market.
For example, on March 26, 2018, when CCP leader Xi Jinping hosted the visiting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the two bottles of “short-mouthed Maotai in sauce bottle” served at the banquet caught the attention of Chinese media outlets because this type of Maotai is considered a ”special supply” and rarely sold in the market. At the time, one such Maotai reportedly sold online for 1.28 million yuan (about $176,600).
CCP ‘Tricks’ People to Make Money
Wang Yingguo, a former entrepreneur from Shenzhen who now resides in the United States, told the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times on June 10 that the CCP doesn’t effectively enforce the rules on stopping the production and distribution of “illegal special supplies,” and the recent crackdown is just a way for the CCP to make money.“The purpose of this law enforcement action is to catch a group of ‘leeks’ [vulnerable Chinese individuals exploited by the CCP] and fine them, so as to generate revenue for the cadres at the lower level. The important thing is to generate income ... the Communist Party has the final say of what is legal and illegal,” Mr. Wang said.
“For example, when a brewery produces liquor, they print some words like ’special supply‘ or ’exclusive supply' on it as clients request. This is not illegal; it is just a marketing method,” he pointed out.
“In the name of cracking down on ‘illegal special supply’ liquor, the authorities entered other people’s legal businesses and seized their liquor. They made arbitrary accusations, and there was no way to reason with the regime,” he continued.
Mr. Wang said that the one-party dictatorship of the CCP is itself a ’special supply' system, and “each department—from the central government to local ones—has its own ‘private plot’ [to produce or order special supplies].”
Real ‘Tegong’ Products Rarely Available on Market
As the demand for high-end “tegong” liquors such as Moutai increases, Chinese media often report on fake Moutai liquor. Various Chinese media revealed that, at one point, as much as 90 percent of Mautai liquor on the Chinese market was fake.Yang Sheng, a Chinese lawyer, told The Epoch Times on June 10 that the vast majority of Moutai on the market are counterfeit because the military directly purchases genuine Moutai from the company. The “special” liquor supplied to foreign embassies and provincial and ministerial-level governments doesn’t have “tegong” labeled on the bottles, he pointed out.
“You can’t buy the real thing. Anything that says ’special supply‘ on the package is probably fake. The real ’special supply’ doesn’t say ’special supply.' It is delivered through an exclusive channel, which guarantees its authenticity,” the lawyer explained, who used a pseudonym out of fear of potential reprisal from authorities.
Mr. Wang told The Epoch Times that “special supply” products are nothing more than “class worship and a poisonous legacy of the Mao Zedong era.”
He also mentioned “special supply” cigarettes, such as Great Wall Cigars, founded in the late 1950s and originally made exclusively for the CCP’s top leaders.
“I once asked the police and the national security personnel, and now the ’special supply' cigarettes are limited to provincial guesthouses and provincial military command. They can hardly be found in city-level units. This kind of cigar is only available inside the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, and it is unlikely to be circulated on the market,” he said.
