More than 90 percent of people think the neo-rich in China have benefited from networking with government officials and 42 percent have a "bad impression" of the group, a recent survey has found.

In the poll, conducted by the People's Daily, "newly rich families" mainly refer to private entrepreneurs that have attracted great public attention by the speed in which they have accumulated fortunes.

According to the survey, 91 percent of the respondents think all rich families have deep political backgrounds. 74 percent believe their key to success was "being good at networking with officials." Only 16 percent think "wisdom and hard work of family members" are the reason for their success.

The poll suggested that 69 percent of people think "badly" or "really badly" of the newly rich families in China. Only 3 percent said their impressions of the group are "OK" or "very good".

"The public gives positive evaluation to the ability of the group in making fortunes, and has no bad impression of their firms or assets. What causes resentment are the paths they take to gain wealth and some bad behavior after getting rich," the People's Forum magazine said in a report.

Survey results show most people think the biggest reason causing the public's bad impression of the newly rich families is that they are involved in power-money deals (79 percent). 48 percent think this group has failed to shoulder its social responsibility. And 40 percent think the group is rich but immoral.

Meanwhile, 86 percent are concerned about the close relationship between entrepreneurs and officials in China, doubting whether this rich group could have accumulated its wealth if there were no links with officials.

"The tragedy of Huang Guangyu, who was once China's richest person, is caused by collusion with officials," one netizen said on People's Daily website. "It is proving that if there is no strict division between government rights and commercial activities, more tycoons could fall."

Huang, once China's richest man and founder of China's biggest home appliance retail chain Gome, was detained in late 2008. He now faces charges of bribery and insider trading. Chinese media said Huang's case has implicated nearly a thousand government officials, from ministry level to grassroots.

Cai Jiming, director of the Center for Political Economy at Tsinghua University, reminded people to look at the whole picture.

"It is natural to understand the public's anger but we should also be aware that the wealth and deals of bosses in State-owned enterprises are more lacking in transparency," he said.

Questions:

1. What percentage of polltakers thought that the new rich families were “Bad” or “really bad”?

2. Who conducted the poll?

3. What percentage of polltakers believe that networking with government officials was the key to the new rich family’s success?

Answers:

1. 79 Percent.

2. The People’s Daily.

3. 90 Percent.

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（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

Todd Balazovic is a reporter for the Metro Section of China Daily. Born in Mineapolis Minnesota in the US, he graduated from Central Michigan University and has worked for China Daily for one year.