If, as the protesters demand, this patronage system were ended, Mr Assad's hand would be severely weakened.
He has long bestowed honours in exchange for donations to his good causes. The causes may benefit his beloved rural poor, but the patronage system perpetuates royal influence.
They control not just the lifeblood of China's economy, but a corporate patronage system that dispenses top-paying executive jobs to relatives of the party's leading lights.
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