Editorials

Opaque move

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-14 07:55

It is time local governments come clean on the issue of higher entry rates at sites of historical value, as proposed recent hikes - apart from provoking a public backlash - may well serve as yet another opportunity for the corrupt to make some more money.

Pingyao, a walled city in Shanxi province with a history dating back 2,000 years, will hold a public hearing next week to debate on an increase from 100 yuan to 125 yuan its entry rates.

Related readings:  Pingyao's ticket price?hike 'not official's fault'  Ticket price hike 'not official's fault'

The Confucius Temple in Qufu, Shandong province, held a similar hearing last month to raise its ticket price from 150 to 185 yuan. The Yellow Crane Tower Park in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, increased admission costs from 50 to 70 yuan in April minus a public hearing.

The pretext is always the same - more funds are needed to maintain and protect cultural heritage sites.

Yet, the public is never given the exact picture - annual maintenance fee for these sites, earnings from ticket sales and amount of money invested by local governments.

Despite contravening the State Council's rules regarding disclosure of official information, most such site administrations refuse to make their financial situations public.

The government must tightly control the entry rates at these public-funded sites. Close scrutiny of income from ticket sales should also be undertaken - after all it is the taxpayer's money. Raising ticket prices even while keeping the budgets used to run these heritage centers out of bounds is unreasonable.

The local governments have an obligation to be accountable to the public.

(China Daily 07/14/2010 page8)