China’s well-to-do are under assault from every side

It wasa year ago that the woman who asked to be referred to as Xue Li entered the minefield, although she did not know it at the time. It was only when a mine detonated that she realised the risk she had been running—and by then it was too late.Chinese call an investment that has gone bad a “landmine explosion”. In Ms Xue’s case, the blast came from a wealth-management product that had promised an annual return of about 8%. It had been recommended by a friend and was sold by Hywin, a big firm based in Shanghai but listed in both Hong Kong and New York. She put in 300,000 yuan ($42,000) last February and a further 500,000 a few months later. In December, however, it became clear that the firm was struggling to meet its obligations. It is uncertain how much of her original investment, if any, Ms Xue will ever see again.