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I actually believe the power networks that matter are made up of people who can afford honesty and magnanimity, and that gossips never make it above being minor gatekeepers.

Low stakes players sometimes get to sit at high stakes tables, and sometimes they take out a high stakes player from that round, but they go bust pretty fast.

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But a posture of honesty appears too expensive even for the Chinese ruling party; how much more power do you need?

Not a good example, Communism abrogates spirituality. It's intrinsically barren and illegitimate. The CCP, founded on a lie, can never afford the truth. And, indeed, we find them trying to maintain a fabricated history to maintain their power. (The "incident" in the Square, the name of Taiwan, and so on.)

Generally, there is a correlation between personal power and integrity.

Not sure why you got downvoted. It's an honest observation.

Maybe it's worth stating that I consider myself pro-China. I'm anti-communist. If anything I'm a bit of a Sinophile. IMO the Tao Te Ching is one of the greatest books in the world, for example.

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