Its people are living increasingly better lives, with
everyone benefiting from the fruits of the new policies.
But as in any reformation, the cake has not been equally
shared. Then which social groups have benefited most?
A survey conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences has tried to find some answers. A research group at the academy's
Institute of Sociology surveyed more than 15,000 urban residents between the
ages of 18 and 69 from across the nation.
The results are surprising to many. Almost 60 per cent of
respondents hold that government officials are the biggest beneficiaries. A
total of 55.4 per cent of those surveyed say private entrepreneurs as a group
have gotten the most out of the reforms, even more than entertainers,
State-owned enterprise managers, technicians and teachers.
Entrepreneurs, it seems, ought to easily top the list
since the country's reform process was timed to coincide with the liberalization
of China's markets and the improvement of its legal system, which has
facilitated development of its private economy.
"Statistically, the survey is tenable," said Li Peilin,
director of the institute.
According to Li, researchers generally survey 3,000 to
6,000 people in a study. This time, the fact that 15,000 people were questioned
testifies to the thoroughness of the research.
"There have only been few surveys on such a scale," said
Li.
The ages of people interviewed were made to correspond
with that of local population so that the survey could be representative, while
factors such as occupation, income levels and gender were also taken into
consideration, according to Li.
"With such comprehensiveness , I think the results well
represent people's opinions," Li said.
Highly representative as it is, the results may not be an
absolute mirror image.
"The result does not necessarily reflect the reality
because it is only a value judgement," said Xia Xueluan, a professor at Peking
University's Department of Sociology.
As in other surveys, this one is not designed to search
for the absolute truth of the facts, but rather the opinions held by those
interviewed.
A noticeable fact is that the salary of government
officials is not extravagant when compared with other social groups. A civil
servant in the central government ministries earns around 2,000 yuan (US$240)
per month on average. Local civil servants earn still less. The income level is
higher than that of ordinary workers, but lower than many white collar
professionals - let alone private business owners.
It is possible that survey respondents may have taken
into account civil servants' free or low-priced housing, medical care and other
benefits, as well as respectable social status. But even before China adopted
its reforms and opening-up policies, such officials had enjoyed those types of
privileges.
"Government officials had been among the highest-income
groups in the Mao Zedong era. Their social status now is not more prominent,"
said Kang Xiaoguang, a researcher with the Centre of China Study under the
Chinese Academy of Sciences.
In other words, their low income and unimproved social
status should not have made people think they are the group benefiting most from
the country's reforms.
"I think by choosing them as the greatest beneficiaries,
the people surveyed indirectly are pointing to perceived corruption," said
Kang.
Although the central government has made unremitting
efforts to root out corrupt officials - who account for a small part of civil
servants - the spread of corruption stories has sowed seeds of
discontent.
This year, 13 officials at provincial- and
ministerial-level were dealt with for corruption. And China has meted out death
penalties to three provincial- and ministerial-level officials since the late
1970s, with the latest, Wang Huaizhong, former vice-governor of Central China's
Anhui Province, sentenced to death on Monday.
The media have covered those corruption cases in detail
in recent years while, in the past, not many cases were reported so vehemently
due to the underdeveloped press.
"Increased media coverage gives an impression that there
are more and more officials that take bribes and trade power for money, although
in fact it is not the case," said Xia.
He said people thus may think few officials aren't
corrupt. "This is kind of an 'empathy'."
To win the hearts of the people, a tougher hand on
corruption is certainly necessary. But systematic improvement is more
important.
At its root, government should make itself more
accountable to the people and encourage social supervision of those doing the
governing.
Meanwhile, it must change its mode of economic
regulation. Administrative power should gradually retreat from economic fields
to lessen chances of rent-seeking.
"China is a society that is on the whole still under a
centralized management. The administrators have ease access to resources; that's
why they could benefit from the reform," said Li Qiang, head of Tsinghua
University's School of Humanity and Social Sciences.
That is one of the dearest lessons we have learned from
past reform efforts.
What is encouraging is that the central and local
governments have been prompt in improving economic regulation.
The central government has relinquished more than 1,300
administrative approval items, for example, to give the market more say in
deciding economic matters.
That would not only help fulfil China's World Trade
Organization commitments, but help stem corruption.
(China Daily)
