ABSTRACT
The axe is the forester’s most symbolic professional possession. The trees constitute both a rich resource and the instrument through which the fire spreads to destroy that resource. Mostly, this laborious process is carried out in advance of a fire by cutting fire-breaks. The only way to stop the spread of large fires is to destroy trees to save the forest. Through timely and decisive action to ‘cut the trees to save the forest,’ the threat of financial crisis was averted in Guangdong. Even 'tall trees' owned by the government would need to avoid 'moral hazard' in their borrowing and lending practices. ‘Suiting measures to local conditions’ is one of the most important precepts of China’s political tradition. The shocking revelations about the two flagship companies in China’s most commercially sophisticated province demonstrated the urgent need for corporate governance reform at China’s state-owned enterprises, especially those in the financial sector.
