Does Wal-Mart really collaborate that closely with the PRC gov't?

[PopHistorian]

Guess so! No one here should be too surprised at the Orwellian irony of an enormous (largest retailer in US), conservative (sells guns but not CDs with racy covers), US corporation would set up a Communist Party office in one of its foreign headquarters, but I think the average Joe, having been programmed all his life with the "communist = evil" idea, might be a little shocked. This is the kind of thing that you could report to the average, patriotic American, and he would simply scowl and tell you're full of it.

Wal-Mart China sets up Chinese Communist Party branch in Shenzhen
People's Daily Online

Wal-Mart, one of the world's largest retailers, has set up Chinese Communist Party (CPC) branch in its Chinese headquarter in South China. Wal-Mart China's headquarter in the southern city of Shenzhen, set up its CPC branch on Nov. 15, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

The establishment of the CPC branch in Wal-Mart China marks the success in promoting CPC organization work in foreign companies and will surely boost more CPC organizations in foreign-financed companies, Wang Suiming, head of the CPC Shenzhen City Committee's organization department.

This is another breakthrough made by the Fortune 500 company after it set up a trade union in its headquarter last month, Wang said. In August, Wal-Mart set up its first party branch in the northeast city Shenyang.

According to the Constitution of CPC, every Party member must be organized into a branch, cell or other specific unit of the CPC to participate in the regular activities of the Party, and primary Party organizations are formed with at least three full CPC members.

Wal-Mart founded its first trade union in Jinjiang in July and since then at least 60 more Wal-Mart outlets in China have set up trade unions with more than 6,000 members, according to the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU).

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. entered the Chinese market in 1996, and it now has 67 stores in 34 Chinese cities, with more than 30,000 employees.

Source: Xinhua