Editorials

A triumphant decade

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-31 07:50

Ten years back, at the threshold of the new millennium, we fidgeted with the rest of the world, wondering not only what immediate difference the "millennium bug" would make, but also what the world would look like at the new decade.

Today, as we bid farewell to the first decade of the new millennium, many, if not all, of those question marks have found answers. With some in the West labeling the past 10 some years as the least desirable in their countries' recent histories, the Chinese feel dramatically different. Our people are actually among a pretty small few the world over who are embracing 2010 full of confidence and hopes.

Worldwide, stories about China have surrounded the sizzling economy. This has hardly changed 10 years into the new millennium. With 150 million carrying on a day-to-day struggle for subsistence, our people, from top national leaders to the men and women from rural communities, understands and accepts the centrality of economic concerns in this country.

The prospect of taking the place of German to become the world's largest exporter is of course something to celebrate. That is yet another proof that our economy has fared so far so good through the sweeping global financial meltdown. But changes here have reached far beyond.

The increasing weight of the individual on the national political balance far outweighs accessibility of such previous "luxuries" as private vehicles. That began since the new generation of national leaders took over the helms in 2002. From their "people first" proposal to "scientific outlook on development", the Hu Jintao-Wen Jiabao duet have maneuvered a strategic fine-tuning, if not turn, in our approach to development. That people's livelihood has finally found its way into the policy limelight is nothing short of revolutionary.

Some years later, young people may not even know people have had to get official documents from their employers in order to get married or be issued a passport. Or that going to college used to be the privilege of a lucky few Bit by bit, the average Chinese saw life becoming easier and more enjoyable in the past decade.

Every of us has seen the authorities turning responsive to our concerns. And we all know how much we owe to the Internet.

The World Wide Web has turned out to be an effective driving force behind the more and more civil society. Frequent online uproars over issues of public concern have promoted the authorities to rethink and refine their approaches. In spite of instinctive responses to information supervision, our officials are learning to share information. Both Hu and Wen have set personal examples by communicating with netizens online. In return, they have seen unprecedented solidarity in times of difficulty, the Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, for instance. With that one-heartedness, the nation has emerged all challenges stronger than ever.

But there is one thing that should be kept in mind. Most of the rhetoric about our strength these days is based on size. Our real might instantly diminishes when the mammoth population is taken into account. We are huge indeed. But far from strong.

The more important aspect of the story is that we have just entered the stage where we can no longer skirt around those inescapable obstacles. The urban-rural divide is too wide to be tolerable. The approach to development is too costly, in terms of both resources and environmental consequences, to be sustainable. Corruption is too pervasive to be acceptable

And we know problems entail operations on the systems.

For our next 10 years to be better ones, we need the resolve to fight those tough battles.

(China Daily 12/31/2009 page8)