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Letters and Blogs
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-31 07:44 Statistics make NBS chief blush Ma Jiantang, head of National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), remarked in a recent talk show that he blushed at a netizens' query on the growth rate of urban wages. Out of the 240 million urban workers, only 130 million, or 40 percent of the total, have been included in the statistics. The reason for the gap between statistics and people's expectations comes from the mismatch between the survey's results and reality. As the legacy of a planned economy, the survey only includes employees in the public sector and State-owned enterprises. Now, there has been an increasing number of private enterprises, and hence the statistics should include more workers from the private sector, too. Another scandal of statistics might make Ma feel even more embarrassed. NBS released China's GDP of the first half year recently, which is 1.4 trillion less than the sum of GDP figures released by provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities - a nearly 10 percent error. In addition to undermining credibility, false statistics pose a serious threat to the national decision-making process, and cause misunderstandings in the international community. To be fair, Ma Jiantang, who took office less than a year ago, is not to be blamed for all the problems. When he says he blushed, he actually shows a sense of responsibility. Unless he takes steps towards sound and swift reform, however, Ma's blush is no guarantee that the NBS will do better jobs. Yi Qiong Er Bai http://xiapingzh.blog.163.com Preventing tragedy of upright officials On August 17, Li Xingguang, director of transportation bureau of Hegang, Heilongjiang province, was found murdered in his home. After eight days' of hard work, policemen succeeded in cracking the case and detained four suspects. It was astonishing that Li Xingguang was killed by his subordinate, who resented Li nosing out his economic scandals. The case reminds us of other similar tragedies over the years. On March 22, 2000, a deputy dean of Education Office of Changqing township, Heilongjiang killed the dean in order to get rid of the obstacle on his way of promotion. One month ago, Tian Yuansheng, deputy director of the Shanxi liaison office in Guangzhou, was pierced to death by his colleague who resented for Tian's critics. These cases have a common thread: The leader was killed by their frustrated subordinates. If serving as an official - because he reproaches someone - becomes a dangerous job, no official would insist on principles, and righteousness would give way to wickedness. To punish the murderer and honor the victims are definitely two remedies we can use to restore righteousness. And, if we want to put an end to this kind of tragedy, we should weaken or cancel some privileges of high-ranking officials and enhance effective supervisions. We need not let power become synonymous with material pleasures or illegal incomes. Liu Dongming via e-mail (China Daily 08/31/2009 page4) |
