A glaring symbol for the distance China has
traveled from the Mao Zedong years is the Ferrari showroom not far from the
Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Nor is capitalism neglected in the lobbies of
Beijing's five-star hotels, where Hermes, Ferragamo and Tiffany kiosks reign.
No wonder some Chinese joke that the label "communist" in the ruling party's
name is already a historical relic, or at least to be changed for a better and
world acceptable one.
China's leaders demonstrated again last week that they understand the rising
tide has not yet lifted all boats. The nation's wealth, staggering though it is,
is concentrated along the coast. It's easy to see the rich in Shanghai, Beijing
and Guangzhou, but they're far more scarce in the west.
President Hu Jintao deserves credit for understanding the problems. His
slogan of "harmonious society," a very good one, reflects the need to lessen the
disparity between rich and poor, which is exacerbated by high-handed local
officials and private developers who demolish simple houses to make way for
high-rises with little or no compensation for the tenants.
The party's leaders ended their annual planning meeting last week with a
pledge to try to "maintain fast and stable economic growth" while also improving
the lives of those who have not benefited from the reform and opening. The
demand for change is clear: According to government figures, there were 10,000
public protests in 1994 and 74,000 last year. That shows the anger over
corruption, income inequality, deteriorating pollution, and poor and dangerous
working conditions.
Hu and his team have tried to address the problems, going out of their way to
visit coal mines (still the sites of cave-ins that kill dozens of miners at a
time) and helping migrants from the countryside to the cities collect their
wages.
World Bank chief Paul Wolfowitz told a news conference in Beijing that China
had made some advances in listening to ordinary citizens but needed to do more
in developing the rule of law and a civil society. He said the World Bank's wide
experience in providing funds to developing nations - and China still is one
despite its growing pockets of wealth - had taught it that the quality of
governance determines the quality of development.
Hu's team should have the courage to do it, and a better governance will
yield economic benefits for more people in China.
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