Home 禄 Opinion 禄 Chinese Views
Vanity projects in a poor county
Print Edition
LOCAL government in Rucheng county, an impoverished county in Hunan Province, spent 48 million yuan (US$7 million) on a plaza, while some of its residents still do not have access to electricity, according to a national newspaper report.
Earlier this year, an inspection team from Hunan provincial government was startled by the grandiose plaza in front of the county government building. It features six towering ginkgo trees worth 2.85 million yuan and eight sculpted stone columns that cost 1.2 million yuan, which are so incongruous in a poverty-stricken county with a per capita annual income below 3,000 yuan.
Subsequent investigation by the inspection team discovered that the local government was heavily in debt.
Part of the debt had been used to finance vanity projects.
Meanwhile, many residents were still living in dilapidated houses with kerosene lamps. Many of them spent the Spring Festival in 2016 and 2017 without running water.
That such projects are by no means uncommon suggests how grandiose image projects, while costly, can be “useful.” It is easy to see that nothing impresses certain superiors more than a few glittering projects seen from chauffeured limousines, and these superiors are often instrumental in deciding the promotion of their subordinates. Thus how to impress some superiors is often not a trifle for “ambitious” local officials.
It also suggests how out of touch some local officials could afford to be with the needs and plight of the people under their watch.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
