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Time for introspection

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-04 07:40

Hardly had the dust settled over the Weng'an riot in Guizhou province when we received reports on the murder of six police officers in Shanghai and the explosion that left 12 injured at a government compound in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province.

They are three separate incidents occurring in different places at different times - on June 28, July 1, and July 2, respectively. Final outcomes of official investigations into all three tragedies are pending. Yet the clues that have surfaced so far, though still awaiting corroboration, seem to show a surprisingly similar pattern - a disgruntled crowd or individual acting against State functionaries.

In Weng'an, people doubting the local police authorities' conclusion about the cause of the death of a teenage girl, who, relatives believed, was raped and then murdered, ransacked government buildings and public utilities.

In the Shanghai tragedy, the suspect, who killed six police officers and left four others wounded, reportedly confessed he was seeking revenge for being wrongfully suspected of theft and interrogated earlier.

In Zhangjiajie, according to official sources, the suspect took two burning gas containers to the local government complex out of anger at local officials who had forcibly demolished an unauthorized building he had constructed.

We need further details to see whether or not the authorities had done anything wrong.

Nothing can justify violence. But the three consecutive tragedies challenge government departments to do some serious soul-searching. Why were the people of Weng'an so angry as to set fire to government buildings? How could a citizen turn so violent after a single regular police interrogation? Does the removal of an illegal structure have to end up in hatred?

We never doubted the authorities' capabilities of re-installing order and coming up with efficient measures in such scenarios. But that would at best be cosmetic, unless all State functionaries take the warning sign seriously. The three tragic episodes reveal a less-than-harmonious relationship between the general public and those who are supposed to be at their service.

No matter what had worsened the situation and ultimately led to the sorrowful endings, we saw obvious distrust and discontent in the cases.

Reflecting on the Weng'an case, local leaders pointed to an accumulation of public dissatisfaction, as well as some grassroots cadres' unsophisticated approaches in dealing with issues of public concern. Which exist not only there.

The only way for State functionaries to repair their image and regain public confidence is to behave themselves and demonstrate true concern for public well-being.

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has presented a timely prescription for their reference. Its report on the realization of the Communist Party members' right to supervise Party affairs offers some useful hints for guaranteeing democracy inside the Party, which will in turn facilitate self-discipline in holders of public office.

Harmony between the public and government institutions calls for the latter to be truly friendly to the people.

(China Daily 07/04/2008 page8)