Right pedigree pays off

Hong Kong businessman David Lie is a descendant of feared Manchurian warlords - and looks the part. The tall, burly Mr Lie is a member of the Zhang clan, which once ruled a sixth of China. His grandfather's brother, the late Young Marshal Zhang Xueliang, famously kidnapped Chiang Kai-shek and forced him into an alliance with the Communist Party against the invading Japanese.

Today the Zhangs form a vast extended clan scattered across the world, including dozens in Hong Kong. Although the family's fortunes rose and fell with those of Republican China, the Zhangs are back and able to trade on the memories of their former power.

'People here are always curious to meet you, Mr Lie said. 'Guanxi [connections] still count a lot in China. A lot of people from the United States make a mistake in thinking that the World Trade Organisation is going to change that.'

Mr Lie and his mother arrived in Hong Kong as penniless refugees in 1964 and later, aged just 20, he launched himself in business on the mainland with next to no capital. He is now a multimillionaire.

'For me, the mainland after 1979 was akin to the Wild West,' he said pulling on a big cigar.

His grandfather, General Zhang Xueming, was mayor of Tianjin and head of its public security during the 1920s until forced out of power for resisting the Japanese takeover.

Mr Lie's grandfather was one of the eight sons of Zhang Zuolin, the Manchu warlord and sometime ruler of Beijing who was assassinated by the Japanese in 1928.