Beijing's embarrassment of riches is the worst kept secret in the most populous nation. Try as it may to scrub cyberspace of reports of the millions — or billions — of dollars amassed by modestly paid public servants, China's masses know where the real fruits of 6.5 percent growth go: into the pockets of top Community Party apparatchiks.
The key, of course, is not to flaunt it and pledge to curb the practice. That's why the leaked Panama Papers are super awkward for President Xi Jinping amid suspicions his anti-corruption putsch is more hype than reality.
In releasing 11.5 million documents from a Central American law firm, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists sought to expose "a cast of characters who use offshore companies to facilitate bribery, arms deals, tax evasion and drug trafficking." Awkwardly for Xi, his brother-in-law, Deng Jiagui, is among those mentioned. So is Li Xiaolin, daughter of Li Peng, one of China's best-known former premiers. So far, the investigation names eight current and former politburo members. Hong Kong, China's gateway city, is listed among "active intermediaries" in spiriting away riches of the wrath-of-God variety.