"Amway" Goes Off Track in ChinaAmway is a multilevel marketing (MLM, also known as network marketing) company founded in 1959. The company name is an abbreviation of " American Way. Its product lines include personal care products, jewelry, nutritional supplements, water purifiers, air purifiers and cosmetics, as well as other products from top brands. Amway is one of the largest international direct selling companies and entered China in 1995. Its entry into the Chinese market led to large profits and high potential for future growth. However, in 1998 the Chinese government declared a ban on direct sales which threatened a substantial market for Amway . sales techniques could have spread heretical religion and the rise of secret societies. Chinese officials believed the ban was entirely necessary because Amway's distribution and marketing policies were indicative of illegal activities. The original intent of Amway's founders was to create a business using a new product medium. distribution that facilitates entrepreneurship, understanding of economic management and economic independence among its associates (i.e. distributors; the term currently in use is Independent Business Owners, or IBOs). Amway's marketing structure relies on personal connections to recruit new salespeople, called distributors. These are independent agents who rely on close connections such as family, friends and colleagues as clients. To move up the hierarchical ladder, a successful agent will sell more and more products through this network of people. The circle gets bigger and bigger as a distributor is supposed to recruit others to join Amway. The pyramid and recruitment method used by Amway distributors has been labeled sectarian recruitment. The Chinese government was scared of the potential chaos that Amway's direct selling technique could cause in China. The Chinese government's concern is with Amway's independent network system and door-to-door sales techniques. Amway's emotional motivation meetings have scared Chinese officials of possible social chaos. Government opposition to direct selling activities also arose from concerns that giant mass organizations could become alternatives to the Chinese Communist Party and challenge party loyalty. This fear could perhaps be justified given that Chinese society has been standardized under the communist party for many years and the Chinese people were already inclined to become homogeneous according to a new concept such as the one suggested by Amway. Furthermore, in Chinese society where "face" is almost everything, a business that relies on connections can be complicated.