Have you ever been asked for a bribe in exchange for a promotion/good score/positive review?

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

The bribe can be both in cash, favors, or "nature".

[Lord_Saddler]

I've never been directly asked for a bribe, but there's a particularity in the Chinese culture that foreigners, especially Westerners, tend to see as "corrupt-ish."

In China, your life is definitely going to be easier if you achieve guānxi. I can summarize it as "helping the right people out."

You can definitely get a promotion if you just do your job, but your life will be easier if you show your boss respect (well, that one is necessary anyway), do him/her favors and build connections with the right people. It can seem as something borderline corrupt, but the guānxi is a reminiscent of the habit of proving your loyalty to someone.

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

True, there's a similar system here.
Respect and friendship, that's the way to build healthy cadres, and a healthy organization.

[TrueConfection]

You mean like at Christmas time when the line of people waiting to give their gifts, wraps around the town hall building? I never worked for the local government, so nope.

[Agape93]

Yes but to hire someone's kid, and when I said no, it went to threats which got em nowhere

[lightbulb27]

Nope