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Government to tackle lack of public trust in officials, society
Source: Xinhua |
March 15, 2011, Tuesday
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WHEN Hu Siyun, a new father and a migrant worker, walked into a supermarket in Changzhou city in east China's Jiangsu Province, he did not hesitate to buy a costly foreign brand of infant formula, instead of a domestic one.
The infant formula Hu bought is Dumex, priced at around 228 yuan (more than US$34) per 900 grams; a domestic-brand formula sells for 60 yuan per 400 grams.
Hu must pay an extra 371 yuan for an imported brand each month, which is quite costly for people earning only 3,000 yuan a month.
"I would be very happy if there were a home-made infant formula that was both trustworthy and cheaper," he said.
Most of the home-made infant formula sits in the corners of supermarket shelves, while foreign brands or brands from joint ventures are displayed conspicuously.
This epitomizes the embarrassing situation confronting China's dairy industry.
The industry was severely harmed by the melamine-tainted infant formula scandal in 2008. The incident tarnished the image of the country's dairy producers and a big share of the Chinese market has embraced foreign competitors.
Imports of dairy products soared from 120,600 tons in 2008 to 597,000 tons in 2009 as domestic formula became unpopular.
A lack of credibility also haunts other sectors.
Carrefour and Wal-Mart stores in China were fined 9.5 million yuan for deceptive pricing last month.
On February 1, the Chinese government revoked, for the first time, a national scientific award given to Li Liansheng, a former professor in Xi'an Jiaotong University, due to academic fraud.
Deception
And frequent phone fraud cases, which typically involve random phone calls made to dupe victims into sending money to fraudulent accounts, have made Chinese citizens suspicious of virtually everything.
Against this backdrop, "credibility" became a much-discussed term among participants at the ongoing annual sessions of China's national legislature and the top political advisory body.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in the government work report delivered at the NPC session that the country "will strengthen the development of a credibility system, and put in place relevant systems, laws and regulations."
Wang Zhongwu, a sociologist with Shandong University in eastern China, said that "credibility has for a long time been considered more as an ethic, rather than a social norm or regulation in China."
"The belief is proven to be not very satisfactory since a loss of credibility remains serious at present," he said.
The Chinese government has decided to promote a credibility system in the food industry that began in January this year.
As part of this system, government departments will offer guidance to 4,000 companies and all domestic infant formula manufacturers to set up a credibility management system on a trial basis. They will also test a system for certification.
Risks
"I think credibility is not only an ethical issue, but also a responsibility," said Chang Dechuan, president of the Qingdao Port Group Co, Ltd and a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC).
"A manufacturer should bear the responsibility for preventing fraud, counterfeiting or substandard products," he said.
Top Chinese leaders have reiterated the significance of credibility for both the government and society.
During an online chat with Internet users last month, Premier Wen said that problems in two major factors - credibility of society and public trust in government - are hindering progress of society as a whole.
"Society will take a big stride forward once these two factors are handled properly," he said.
Song Xinfang, an NPC deputy who proposed a credibility system for the country's companies and for society, said, "The people's loss of trust in the government could bring the greatest harm."
Realizing the problem and its potential risks, the Chinese government is beginning to address issues of public concern such as the gaping income gap, the abuse of official cars, the sky-high real estate price, soaring grain prices and food safety.
The infant formula Hu bought is Dumex, priced at around 228 yuan (more than US$34) per 900 grams; a domestic-brand formula sells for 60 yuan per 400 grams.
Hu must pay an extra 371 yuan for an imported brand each month, which is quite costly for people earning only 3,000 yuan a month.
"I would be very happy if there were a home-made infant formula that was both trustworthy and cheaper," he said.
Most of the home-made infant formula sits in the corners of supermarket shelves, while foreign brands or brands from joint ventures are displayed conspicuously.
This epitomizes the embarrassing situation confronting China's dairy industry.
The industry was severely harmed by the melamine-tainted infant formula scandal in 2008. The incident tarnished the image of the country's dairy producers and a big share of the Chinese market has embraced foreign competitors.
Imports of dairy products soared from 120,600 tons in 2008 to 597,000 tons in 2009 as domestic formula became unpopular.
A lack of credibility also haunts other sectors.
Carrefour and Wal-Mart stores in China were fined 9.5 million yuan for deceptive pricing last month.
On February 1, the Chinese government revoked, for the first time, a national scientific award given to Li Liansheng, a former professor in Xi'an Jiaotong University, due to academic fraud.
Deception
And frequent phone fraud cases, which typically involve random phone calls made to dupe victims into sending money to fraudulent accounts, have made Chinese citizens suspicious of virtually everything.
Against this backdrop, "credibility" became a much-discussed term among participants at the ongoing annual sessions of China's national legislature and the top political advisory body.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in the government work report delivered at the NPC session that the country "will strengthen the development of a credibility system, and put in place relevant systems, laws and regulations."
Wang Zhongwu, a sociologist with Shandong University in eastern China, said that "credibility has for a long time been considered more as an ethic, rather than a social norm or regulation in China."
"The belief is proven to be not very satisfactory since a loss of credibility remains serious at present," he said.
The Chinese government has decided to promote a credibility system in the food industry that began in January this year.
As part of this system, government departments will offer guidance to 4,000 companies and all domestic infant formula manufacturers to set up a credibility management system on a trial basis. They will also test a system for certification.
Risks
"I think credibility is not only an ethical issue, but also a responsibility," said Chang Dechuan, president of the Qingdao Port Group Co, Ltd and a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC).
"A manufacturer should bear the responsibility for preventing fraud, counterfeiting or substandard products," he said.
Top Chinese leaders have reiterated the significance of credibility for both the government and society.
During an online chat with Internet users last month, Premier Wen said that problems in two major factors - credibility of society and public trust in government - are hindering progress of society as a whole.
"Society will take a big stride forward once these two factors are handled properly," he said.
Song Xinfang, an NPC deputy who proposed a credibility system for the country's companies and for society, said, "The people's loss of trust in the government could bring the greatest harm."
Realizing the problem and its potential risks, the Chinese government is beginning to address issues of public concern such as the gaping income gap, the abuse of official cars, the sky-high real estate price, soaring grain prices and food safety.
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