CHINA / From Editor
About anti-corruption & social discrepancy
By Li Hong (Chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-10-16 08:54
Currently, there has been a lot of hoopla in foreign press reports about
the ruling Party's sixth plenum, and even more about the Party's
floor-sweeping campaign in which the former Shanghai Party boss Chen
Liangyu lost his high-caliber job because of graft charges.
The public has hailed the central government's policy adjustments: from
the dogged pursuit of high economic growth rate towards sustainability of
the environment and energy supply, and to the nurturing of a "harmonious
society" whose aim is to shorten the gap between the rich and the poor,
including providing access to social welfare, medical care and
educational opportunities for the poor.
Alarm bells rang when last year, up to a million residents in the
northeastern city of Harbin were deprived of tap water, because a
chemical plant explosion in the upper reaches of the Songhuajiang River
poisoned the source of the city pumps.
It is sad that quite a number of terminally ill rural elderly are not
covered by any medical insurance and lay on their beds at home waiting
for their last day to come, and that students in rural areas frequently
drop out of school because their parents cannot afford to pay for their
education.
The adjustments are not aimed at restoring the former "socialist
equilibrium", which is a proven failure at propelling productivity and
improving livelihood.
But the outrageous practice of property developers, backed by local
officials, randomly demolishing farmer's houses and taking their farmland
for development, must be stopped and rectified. The powerful and the
wealthy should not be allowed to ride on the backs of the weak and the
poor. They have no right to do that!
Several other goals listed by the Party plenum to be achieved by 2020,
are considered feasible and welcome, such as a creating a better
socialist democratic system, turning regional inequality trends around
and making clear environmental improvements.
Surely, another crux of attaining a healthy economic growth while
lessening public grievances is the Party's anti-corruption actions taken
against those involved in graft scandals.
Lately, a string of corruption cases have been brought to light, and some
high-ranking officials in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Fujian and the navy
were brought to justice. Among them, Chen Liangyu, formerly sitting in
the 24-member Party policy-making Politburo, is the biggest fish to be
caught. Chen, together with his top aides, is now detained, having
reportedly diverted up to US$4 billion of Shanghai's social security
funds into private investment firms.
The pension fund is known in China as 'life-saving' money, and as such it
is, in a sense, untouchable. Any loss of value due to bad or wrong
investments puts the means of living for tens of thousands of elderly in
peril.
Chen and his aids will face justice. We hope the penalty he will get will
be strictly in accordance with the law, no more and no less.
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