2009 top ten news

Top 10 darndest things officials said in 2009

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-12-21 06:00

Editor's Note: Officials in China are a special breed. They tend to be restrained when facing the press and stick to the scripted lines. But occasionally they can be caught off guard and make some of the most unusual remarks one can expect from public servants, including those that are funny, annoying, ironic or simply heartless. You can laud them for speaking their minds, or you can criticize them for their big mouth, but you cannot deny that these retorts, rebuttals and asides add much needed color to an otherwise drab portrait of Chinese officialdom. [The top 10 everything of 2009]

1. "We are of high-level positions. So don't bother to call the police."

2. "Why doesn't the public reveal their assets first?"

3. "I will have your website shut down if you (journalist) dare to report it."

4. "Go straight to the fifth floor. Don't choose the first or second floor."

5. "You are doomed to be punished if you fight against the government. Any action against the government is illegal."

6. "You are a mouthpiece for the party (CPC) or the people?"

7. "Build, baby, build! We will make up for your loss."

8. "I say 99 percent of repeat petitioners are mentally ill."

9. "Which media organization do you work for?"

10. "Are you a member of the Communist Party (CPC)?"

1. "We are of high-level positions. So don't bother to call the police"

Top 10 darndest things officials said in 2009

Yu Fuqin

Yu Fuqin, wife of an official from Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, slapped a 19-year-old tour guide twice in the face when she was reminded not to touch an ancient mural in Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu province, on Oct 6.

When the couple was questioned about the issue by security staff, the husband said: "We are of high-level positions. So don't bother to call the police."

The husband, Zhou Wei, turned out to be a lieutenant colonel of the No 221 Regiment of the Corps. And the wife, Yu Fuqin, was Party secretary of a hospital attached to the regiment.

Both were removed from their posts after an online outrage against their behavior.

2. "Why doesn't the public reveal their assets first?"

"Why doesn't the public reveal their assets first? And why don't the entrepreneurs make their profits public to their employees?" a provincial member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) asked the journalist when asked about the official asset declaration system.

3. "I will have your website shut down if you (journalist) dare to report it."

A female teacher, tired of being harassed during a banquet by a binge-drinking local official of education in Jinan, slapped him in the face.

"How dare you," the official threatened, "I'm an official in charge of education, and you will regret it."

When a journalist tried to interview him about the incident, the official pointed a finger at the journalist and said, "I will have your website shut down if you (journalist) dare to report it".

The big-mouthed official remains in his post and the teacher was suspended in early September, according to stcv.com.

4. "Go straight to the fifth floor. Don't choose the first or second floor."

Top 10 darndest things officials said in 2009

A 66-year-old villager in Chengde of Hebei province asked local official Shi Guozhong for help on demolition compensation in December.

The villager cried and claimed he would commit suicide by jumping from a top building after he was rejected by Shi Guozhong. "It's none of my business. Go straight to the fifth floor (if you want to commit suicide). Don't choose the first or second floor," the official answered.

5. "You are doomed to be punished if you fight against the government. Any action against the government is illegal."

Pan Rong, from Minhang district of Shanghai, was called "a brave woman" by netizens for throwing self-made Molotov cocktails at authorities to protest the forcible demolition of her house.

However, the self-made explosives failed to prevent the demolition. Pan and her husband were seized and their house was pulled down. Pan's husband was imprisoned for eight months.

An official in the district in charge of demolition pronounced, "You are doomed to be punished if you fight against the government. Any action against the government is illegal".

6. "You are a mouthpiece for the party (CPC) or the people?"

After luxury houses were built in a region intended for affordable housing in Zhengzhou, Henan province, journalists interviewed local official Lu Jun, on June 17th.

"You are a mouthpiece for the party (CPC) or the people?" he asked.

Lu's remark shocked the journalist and the public. It implied that the ruling party has interests at odds with those of the people.

Lu was suspended from his post and remains at home.

7. "Build, baby, build! We will make up for your loss."

Top 10 darndest things officials said in 2009

Wang Aimin, mayor of Langfang of Hebei province, issued a slogan to attract investment to the real estate industry.

He said, "Real estate is a good industry to invest in and we will offset all the losses of the developers who come to invest - by providing free land as compensation."

8. "I say 99 percent of repeat petitioners are mentally ill."

Top 10 darndest things officials said in 2009

Sun Dongdong, an expert with the Ministry of Health and a professor of Peking University, told the press that "99 percent of repeat petitioners are mentally ill".

His controversial remark resulted in a protest of more than 200 people calling for Sun's dismissal from Peking University. He later apologized.

9. "Which media organization do you work for?"

Zhou Jihong

Zhou Jihong, head of the Chinese national diving team, refuted the rumor that she fixed the diving competitions at the 11th Chinese National Games.

Zhou, who led China to seven out of eight gold medals at last year's Beijing Olympic Games, said that almost all the gold medalists at the National Games were world or Olympic champions and no one could manipulate referees.

When asked about the scandal, Zhou retorted, "Which media organization do you work for?" It implied that she was above the questioning of regular media with official status lower than her organization.

10. "Are you a member of the Communist Party (CPC)?"

Top 10 darndest things officials said in 2009

A dog management office in Zhengzhou has received a storm of criticism for spending 7.3 million yuan ($1 million) in two years -- money that came from charging license fees from dog owners -- without providing more services to the public.

An investigation was conducted by a local newspaper on November.

Wang Guanqi, a local official with the bureau of budget administration, refused an interview and asked the journalist, "Are you a member of CPC? And you have to get approval from our bureau CPC committee if you want an interview." It implied that only those of comparable official level are allowed to ask him questions.