Translate happiness into good governance

At least 18 provincial governments reportedly set happiness as the main objective of their work, says an article in China Business News. Excerpts:

Happiness is a subjective feeling, so the governments should create some indexes to materialize it.

Setting happiness as the objective of the governments' work marks a progress in the officials' concept and understanding of their responsibilities.

This progress is the prerequisite condition for governments to transform their functions from administrative authorities to public service providers.

Local governments have played an important role in stimulating economic growth. Now, they need to distribute the wealth more fairly among citizens and let more people enjoy the achievements of development.

Instead of pursuing a higher GDP, governments should be more concerned about the average income per capita, and solve practical problems, such as education, social insurance, medical care and other public services.

The happiness felt by common citizens comes from various sources. As long as the government gives the impression that it is doing the best it can to fulfill its responsibilities, the people will feel satisfied and happy with the government.

On the other hand, government officials should also conduct themselves properly in their daily lives. If they break the law and abuse their power, they will ruin the government's image and waste previous efforts.

In this sense, the happiness emphasized by governments does not refer to the personal feelings of each citizen, but to what extent people are satisfied with the governments' performance. If governments try their best to improve governance, then people will be happy with them.