SHANGHAI: A majority of the people who have responded to an official questionnaire favor the government's plan to overhaul the holiday calendar, according to statistics from Xinhua News Agency.

However, many people have also suggested the survey's results were inaccurate because it asked "leading questions". They pointed to the spirited debate in online forums and outright opposition in some quarters as evidence.

The overhaul plan, released last Friday, would increase the number of national holidays each year from 10 to 11. However, the week-long May Day break would be reduced to just one day and replaced by three festival-related holidays.

Nearly 1.85 million netizens have responded to a public survey organized by the National Reform and Development Commission. About 80 percent said they favored shortening the May Day holiday to one day, while upgrading Tomb-Sweeping Day, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival to national holidays.

Concerns about traffic, low-quality tourist services and damage to scenic spots during the Golden Weeks were reasons people gave in favor of the proposal.

But a look at online discussion boards showed that public opinion was far more mixed, with discussion centering on whether the traditional week-long May Day holiday should be affected.

"The negative opinions toward canceling the May Day holiday in the BBS (online forum) posts are in sharp contrast to the overwhelming 'support' reflected in the poll figures," columnist Bi Shicheng said.

And some people in Shanghai have come out against the proposal.

"If the seven-day May Day holiday is abolished, I'll be very disappointed," Xu Liuyang, a migrant worker from Central China's Henan Province, said. "I don't care about the traffic, and I don't mind waiting in a long queue to get a train ticket. I just want to go home to join my family."

"Having only a one-day holiday would mean no holiday to me because returning home will be impossible," Xu said.

White-collar workers seemed to agree.

Zhang Cuicui, an employee of the South Korea-based Samsung Electronics, said she "strongly disagrees with the change" because she "badly needs the week-long holiday to escape the daily grind and get enough rest and relaxation".

People are particularly concerned because the results of the survey are to be included in the final draft of the holiday plan.

"The design of the questionnaire leaves the public no choice but to be supportive," Shu Shengxiang, a Hangzhou-based accountant, said. "It is not a wise move to avoid seeking public opinion on such an important issue."

China Daily-Xinhua

(China Daily 11/14/2007 page4)