It is ridiculous for local governments to speak in favor of realty developers

ACCORDING TO REPORTS, the government in East China's Jiangxi province requires its city authorities to encourage local rural villagers to purchase houses in cities. It has even instructed them to spread the idea among rural residents that "the value of houses in cities will rise". Beijing News asks: is it a provincial government or a real estate developer?

The Jiangxi provincial government has committed two wrongs. First, forgetting its own role, it has sided with developers by acting as a sales promoter for them. Second, it has promised house prices will rise, which is unambiguously forbidden by the Advertising Law.

Data show by the end of 2015, there were 14.9 million square meters of housing for sale in Jiangxi alone, 26.8 percent higher than last year. That explains why the Jiangxi provincial government is making such an irrational move, it is under heavy pressure to reduce its unsold housing inventory.