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Representatives 'hired' to vote for price hikes
By Xu Chi |
July 17, 2011, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
RESIDENT representatives are "hired" by the city government in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, to consistently vote for price hikes in public services, web users claim.
Netizens discovered four representatives are regularly picked in each supposedly random draw to attend public hearings.
The people involved deny being hired or paid by the government.
Among them, 63-year-old Hu Litian has attended 19 public hearings in Chengdu in the past seven years. Hu said she was "fortunate enough" to be picked as a representative in each of the 19 draws.
"With such luck, it's a pity that Hu didn't buy herself a lottery ticket," said Nie Zuoping, a Sichuan writer, on his microblog on Weibo.com.
Hu voted for government proposals for increases in water charges, cab fares, parking fees and other hikes.
Her motto is that "people live to occupy and exhaust resources so any charges from the government are reasonable," claimed Nie.
Nie's microblog had been forwarded more than 18,500 times by yesterday, with thousands of web users voicing their anger at being represented by Hu and casting doubts on the city's public hearing system.
Last Wednesday, Hu voted in a public hearing on a proposal to increase car parking charges. The hearing ended with 23 of 24 representatives agreeing.
Three other representatives were also found to be participating frequently and consistently voting for hikes.
In an earlier interview with Chengdu reporters, Hu said she was "chasing a sense of achievement" by applying to be a representative at every public hearing.
Another representative, Tang Houyi said they "regarded themselves as hosts of the city, which drove them to participate in hearings."
But web users were unimpressed. "They are just actors acting as residents at the hearings and are damaging the credibility of the government," said one netizen.
Chengdu government refused to comment.
Netizens discovered four representatives are regularly picked in each supposedly random draw to attend public hearings.
The people involved deny being hired or paid by the government.
Among them, 63-year-old Hu Litian has attended 19 public hearings in Chengdu in the past seven years. Hu said she was "fortunate enough" to be picked as a representative in each of the 19 draws.
"With such luck, it's a pity that Hu didn't buy herself a lottery ticket," said Nie Zuoping, a Sichuan writer, on his microblog on Weibo.com.
Hu voted for government proposals for increases in water charges, cab fares, parking fees and other hikes.
Her motto is that "people live to occupy and exhaust resources so any charges from the government are reasonable," claimed Nie.
Nie's microblog had been forwarded more than 18,500 times by yesterday, with thousands of web users voicing their anger at being represented by Hu and casting doubts on the city's public hearing system.
Last Wednesday, Hu voted in a public hearing on a proposal to increase car parking charges. The hearing ended with 23 of 24 representatives agreeing.
Three other representatives were also found to be participating frequently and consistently voting for hikes.
In an earlier interview with Chengdu reporters, Hu said she was "chasing a sense of achievement" by applying to be a representative at every public hearing.
Another representative, Tang Houyi said they "regarded themselves as hosts of the city, which drove them to participate in hearings."
But web users were unimpressed. "They are just actors acting as residents at the hearings and are damaging the credibility of the government," said one netizen.
Chengdu government refused to comment.
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