Inappropriate govt gifts show lack of concern

A RESIDENT in a village in Shaanxi province, Northwest China, complained to the media that his disabled grandfather had received a miniskirt and women's shorts as a New Year gift from the county government. An official from the local government said that all the clothes were donated by a Shanghai clothing company and the clothes were not necessarily for the elderly man but for other family members. China Youth Daily on Tuesday comments:

It should have been a good deed like all other welfare offers to people who are in need. The problem is the gifts were inappropriate, which reflects badly on the local government. The officials were simply making a gesture rather than expressing their solicitude.

It was once a good tradition for local governments to show their love and care for local residents in this way during the holidays, but nowadays it would be better to make sure what kind of help or gifts would best benefit the recipients, rather than just distributing donations from companies willy-nilly. This would show ordinary people more respect.