6 FEBRUARY 1988, Page 19

Big Bang

THE Chinese have invented the leaden handshake. So I see from the case of Shi Yong Jie, former head of the Shenyang Explosion-Proof Apparatus Factory. Its failure is blamed on his poor leadership, so he has been fined two years' unemploy- ment benefit. How different from our own heads of imperfectly explosion-proof businesses. Matilda's aunt had the same problem:

Even then she had to pay To get the men to go away.