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Love of power, perks lure civil servants
By Yangcheng Evening News |
March 14, 2012, Wednesday
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Print Edition
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EDITOR'S note:
On March 10, a top legislator said China now has 10 million public servants, compared with 6 million only four years ago. On March 12, the State Administration of Public Service rebuked the legislator, saying that China now has 6.89 million public servants.
Whichever is correct, it's blatantly clear to everyone that China simply has too many "big hats" (da gai mao, meaning official hats) - a big burden on taxpayers.
Here is what the legislator, Liu Xirong, actually said:
"In economic hard times, many countries would first of all cut the number of public servants, but here in China, who dares to trim whom?... China had 6 million public servants four years ago, but now we have 10 million - a whopping increase of 1 million every year... Supervising 100,000 officials is one thing, but supervising 10 million is quite another... Some foreigners couldn't understand why China would discipline more than 100,000 officials every year, until I explained to them that China has too many officials - after all, you clean away more mud from an elephant than from a pig."
Liu is a vice chairman of the law committee of the 11th National People's Congress. He is formerly a vice chairman of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China.
Following are three press commentaries on this issue.
THE surprising swelling of the army of public servants is linked with public bias towards an "elite" class.
The title of a public servant is so appealing because he or she has become part of the haves - such a servant has more political power, economic resources and social welfare than most other people.
There are many reasons why China now has too many officials. Traditional values certainly play a role, because officialdom is often ranked above business in status. But the key lies in today's tilted power structure, in which officials can abuse power for personal gains.
No wonder Chinese officials generally feel happy. But if their power is strictly supervised, would so many people still aspire to don that big hat?
On March 10, a top legislator said China now has 10 million public servants, compared with 6 million only four years ago. On March 12, the State Administration of Public Service rebuked the legislator, saying that China now has 6.89 million public servants.
Whichever is correct, it's blatantly clear to everyone that China simply has too many "big hats" (da gai mao, meaning official hats) - a big burden on taxpayers.
Here is what the legislator, Liu Xirong, actually said:
"In economic hard times, many countries would first of all cut the number of public servants, but here in China, who dares to trim whom?... China had 6 million public servants four years ago, but now we have 10 million - a whopping increase of 1 million every year... Supervising 100,000 officials is one thing, but supervising 10 million is quite another... Some foreigners couldn't understand why China would discipline more than 100,000 officials every year, until I explained to them that China has too many officials - after all, you clean away more mud from an elephant than from a pig."
Liu is a vice chairman of the law committee of the 11th National People's Congress. He is formerly a vice chairman of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China.
Following are three press commentaries on this issue.
THE surprising swelling of the army of public servants is linked with public bias towards an "elite" class.
The title of a public servant is so appealing because he or she has become part of the haves - such a servant has more political power, economic resources and social welfare than most other people.
There are many reasons why China now has too many officials. Traditional values certainly play a role, because officialdom is often ranked above business in status. But the key lies in today's tilted power structure, in which officials can abuse power for personal gains.
No wonder Chinese officials generally feel happy. But if their power is strictly supervised, would so many people still aspire to don that big hat?
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