GDP not  the only goal

A new evaluation mechanism for officials' performance must be established to ensure balanced social and economic development, according to an article in People's Daily. An excerpt follows:

In recent years, local officials have tried their best to stimulate the growth of local GDP (gross domestic product) because it is the most important benchmark in the mechanism evaluating their career performance.

While these GDP-orientated assessments tend to goad local officials into focusing on economic development, they become a factor contributing to the imbalance between social and economic development.

Under the current mechanism, local governments and officials often interfere in the market and the operation of enterprises and invest in "image projects" that usually serve to enhance their performance record rather than benefit the people.

It is also not rare for some local governments to sacrifice their role in public affairs management, such as public medicare service, education, and environmental protection, for the sole purpose of developing economy.

As a matter of fact, GDP growth cannot be split from public management, public service and social environment.

Only when economic achievement and social development advance in a harmonious manner can they benefit each other.

If officials neglect the role of government in social services and put undue emphasis on GDP growth, the government's duty becomes distorted and the way is paved for imbalances between social and economic development.

Besides GDP growth, governments at all levels should also provide various services for the public, including medicare, education, employment, environmental protection and social security.

To this end, the mechanism evaluating the performance of officials should include indices measuring their achievements in public management and services. That way, officials or localities could enhance their work in social services while promoting balanced development between the economy and public services.

Responsible government

To be responsible, the government must take prompt and effective measures in times of unexpected crises to help the public cope, according to an article in Guangming Daily. An excerpt follows:

The Shanghai municipal government has implemented measures to alleviate the negative impacts of bird flu on local poultry farming and processing.

If their poultry has been slaughtered and disposed because of infection, local farmers will be compensated for their direct economic losses. Farmers who raise fowl for breeding or hatchery purposes will also be compensated.

Meanwhile, poultry processing enterprises will be organized by the government to purchase healthy poultry in a unified way. This will not only help alleviate the difficulties farmers have encountered in selling their products, but ensure citizens are purchasing safe poultry.

All these measures are being subsidized by the local governmental budget.

It is a good time for the government to show it is responsible in times of crisis. The current situation requires the government to behave in a proper way, adopting emergency measures to maintain social stability and protect the interest of the public.

The Shanghai municipal government, together with other local authorities, has displayed leadership and responsibility in the current battle against the lethal virus. But the government will face more challenges in dealing with both the public and the bird flu.

Officials at all levels should take the initiative to learn what the public needs and meet those demands. Only in this way can the government build an image of credibility and responsibility.

Discriminatory policy must go

Discriminatory policies and regulations must be rectified to respect people's equal rights, said an article in the Nanjing-based Jiangnan Times. An excerpt follows:

A 1.48-metre tall woman who had been hired as a temporary tax-collector sued her work unit, the Shenzhen Taxation Bureau, after it refused to offer her a permanent civil servant position allegedly because of her small stature.

The Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court passed a judgment earlier this month - two years after the charge was made - that the case would not be heard. The court said matters concerning personnel recruiting by the government are not within its jurisdiction.

According to the Rules for Recruitment of Guangdong Provincial Civil Servants, males must be at least 1.6 metres tall, and females must be above 1.5 metres to qualify for appointment.

This reminds us of another case that happened last April, when a senior university student named Zhou Yichao in East China's Zhejiang Province stabbed two officials, resulting in one death, after he discovered that even though he had passed all examinations and interviews, he could not qualify for public service positions because he was a Hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrier at that time. Zhou was later sentenced to death.

The case ignited heated discussion in the media, and the local government has revised its hiring policy for civil servants this year. Job candidates will no longer be rejected just because they are HBV carriers or because they are too short. It is believed Zhou's extreme act prompted this major policy change.

Policies and regulations may seem reasonable when they are first made. But as time passes and things change, the authorities should adjust policies to keep them in line with social development.

There is a lot to reflect on in the tax-collector's case, such as what are the grounds for setting a 1.5-metre height requirement? An official in the Shenzhen Taxation Bureau considered this a simple matter: "The stateliness of a law-enforcement department requires that the staff be of suitable appearance."

But this view is clearly discriminatory and unfair.

There are still lots of similar discriminatory requirements around the country that deprive people of their right to equal treatments, such as requiring the possession of a permanent residency certificate in order to qualify for a job.

In order to protect citizens' rights, all these discriminatory regulations should be rectified.