From Chinese Press

People need help, not empty sops

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-02 08:08

Xi'an is among the 10 Chinese cities selected for caring the most about people's livelihood. But facts show it is still not worthy of the title, says an article in Qilu Evening Post. Excerpts:

The China Society of Urban Economy and China Association for Labor Studies recently chose Xi'an, capital of Shanxi province, as one of the 10 cities that care the most about people's livelihood.

Responding proudly to the honor, Xi'an officials said they had spent nearly 13 billion yuan since 2008 to improve people's livelihood in eight fields.

Among the achievements they mentioned were the creation of 303 green zones along streets over the past five years, providing about 40 percent of the city's areas with green cover and giving each resident about 8 sq m of green patch.

But the news of a worker committing suicide laid bare the hollowness of the officials' claims. Pan Hongqiang, who had worked for a local State-owned enterprise for 31 years, ended his life on June 10 because he couldn't continue his struggle with a salary of just more than 1,000 yuan a month.

The Xi'an government should have put the 13 billion yuan to better use - like raising people's salaries- instead of spending it on giving the city a facelift.

(China Daily 08/02/2010 page9)