Military power is independent to deter all parties; supervisory power is independent to safeguard integrity; judicial power is independent to ensure judicial fairness; government administration is constrained by supervision and judiciary, but in turn, finances are used to limit the dominance of military power, supervision and judiciary.
Whether it's a separation of powers among three or four branches of government, each relies on this interlocking set of constraints to achieve a balance of power. Now, the Qishino Club, founded under Zhao Xiaohai's advocacy, has effectively shattered this balance of power in the Amur Oblast. By uniting the four branches of power and, through a form of member consultation, the club has appeased the local military, deceived the supervisory and judicial authorities, and provided fertile ground for administrative agencies to manipulate public power behind closed doors. To put it bluntly, the Qishino Club is a protective umbrella of power between Moscow and the Amur Oblast.
From its inception, the Chishino Club was a terrifying presence. Its powerful vitality was coupled with an even greater corrosiveness. This was precisely why, within just three months of its founding, its membership expanded from a dozen to over 200, its influence spreading throughout the Far East. New officials in any department in the Far East faced a choice upon taking office: either join the club or be denied any role, potentially stripped of all power within a short period of time or, in more serious cases, face death.
Sensing a crisis, Zhao Xiaohai finally took the first step in building a comprehensive empire of power and wealth in the Far East by establishing the Qishino Club. For a Chinese entrepreneur in the Far East, simply relying on the powerful would never give him a sense of security, because in that case, he would always be a pawn in the hands of others, a puppet. Zhao Xiaohai did not want to be a puppet, nor did he want to be a pawn in the hands of others like Victor. On the contrary, he wanted others to be his puppets, cards in his hand that he could play at any time.
Perhaps it was because of this that Zhao Xiaohai was dissatisfied with the name of the club for a long time, because the name was given by Yakov. In order to show that he was the real head of the club, after truly grasping the control of the club, Zhao Xiaohai changed the name of the club, a name that has been used for more than ten years and is quite contemporary - "Far East Power Forum".
With the secret establishment of the Qishino Club, a collusion between officials and businessmen across the Amur Oblast aimed at suppressing foreign trade companies officially began.
Following Zhao Xiaohai's plan, the Amur Oblast government issued a new rectification plan in less than two days. The reason for this plan was the recent chaos in the consumer goods market in major cities within Amur Oblast, characterized by soaring prices, rampant substandard goods, rampant smuggling, and the frequent appearance of banned goods. To effectively curb this chaos, the Oblast government's rectification plan outlined a series of stringent measures, requiring close coordination among relevant Oblast departments to crack down on illegal business practices such as smuggling, price gouging, and selling inferior goods as genuine goods.
Following the provincial government's order, all departments across Amur Oblast sprang into action. Surprisingly, the fastest-acting were the Chamber of Commerce, the Health Commission, and the Food Commission, three departments known for their long-standing bureaucracy and ineffective enforcement. However, their targets were clearly not small vendors in the market, but all import and export companies engaged in foreign trade. Law enforcement officers from these three departments meticulously counted the inventory of trading companies, meticulously scrutinizing any violations. If they found any violations, they would confiscate all goods, at best, or shut down the company altogether.
Almost immediately afterwards, customs inspection and foreign trade companies also began to take action. For these two departments, it was too easy to target import and export traders. If they delayed the approval time for customs declaration procedures, reduced import and export limits, and tightened customs inspection, those merchants who relied on import and export trade for their livelihood would not be able to bear it for long.
Besides, who can truly import and export legally these days? Smuggling, smuggling contraband, and evading customs duties are all but commonplace. In the past, as long as you offered a small bribe to the foreign trade company or customs inspector, they'd turn a blind eye. But this time, things were different. The customs officers were all honest and upright, righteously righteous, and they wouldn't accept gifts or bribes. But if there was even the slightest flaw in the goods, they'd be in big trouble.
Even if there's nothing wrong with the goods, if the customs declaration is incomplete, or even if there's just a tiny flaw in the data, customs will ruthlessly detain the goods for two months. Two months might not sound like a long time, but if the goods being detained are something like fresh meat, then after these two months, the food safety authorities might destroy them as soon as they leave customs.
Of course, Zhao Xiaohai's methods of attacking his opponents were far more than just these. To completely crush those trading companies that refused to compromise, he also mobilized the Transportation and Transport Construction Committee. Regardless of the trading company, regardless of its trade, and regardless of whether its trade was legal, as long as it wanted to move goods in bulk, it had to use rail transport and obtain transport wagons approved by the Transportation and Transport Construction Committee.
Following Zhao Xiaohai's request at the club, the Transportation and Construction Committee drastically reduced the number of commercial transport wagons approved, citing high military demand and a shortage of transport wagons over the past two months. This was arguably the most draconian aspect of the crackdown. From the end of May to the beginning of June, among the dozen or so trading companies in Khabarovsk alone, with the exception of the Zhao brothers and Rilke's company, almost none were able to secure sufficient transport wagons. As a result, a large number of goods could not be delivered in a timely manner, causing these companies to suffer huge losses.
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