Narrowing the income gap in search of harmony

Sensitive public opinion at home and abroad has noticed that the just concluded Fifth Plenum of the 16th CPC (Communist Party of China)Central Committee has taken serious action to firmly deal with the realities of the loss of social justice and the continued widening of the wealth gap.

Social justice has always been the ideal of humankind. The gap between urban and rural areas, between regions and between the poor and the rich -- these "three yawning gulfs", seen as tough as bulls during the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976) were declared to be swept away, but the result was that urban and rural areas, workers and farmers and eastern and western regions were plunged into collective poverty. People with different natural endowment and regions with varying resources were required to "march" at the same speed, which is not equity in its real sense.

Reform has led to the overturn of superficial fairness, some people have become wealthy first. The widening three big gaps are hardly avoidable problems in the reform drive. At present, the gap between the richest and the poorest Chinese provinces is over 10-fold in terms of per-capita GDP, but this does not mean that the development of the western region is in a state of stagnation or retrogression. As a matter of fact, the western region is also accelerating its development.

A careful examination of the "three yawning gulfs" reveals the existence of dramatic irrationality.

For instance, the "three rural" (agriculture, rural area and farmer) problems result from dual unfairness of the past and present. The "price scissors" policy introduced for industrial and agricultural products in the early period after the founding of New China in 1949 aimed to win an accelerated industrialization at the expense of the partial interests of agriculture and farmers. After the start of the reform and opening up program in late 1978, the rural areas provided cities with huge amounts of cheap labor, cheap lands and cheap agricultural products, thus speeding up the drive for urbanization, agriculture and farmers again made sacrifices for this. The existence of the urban-rural dualistic structure made it impossible for farmers to receive equal pay for equal work and to enjoy same educational resources and a relatively sound social security system.

Let me take up the question of regional difference.

Shortly after the initiation of the reform and opening up program, eastern regions enjoyed preferential policies including capital construction investment and taxation, they thus accelerated the speed of development. China's western regions that contributed huge amounts of resources to eastern regions found it hard to catch up for the time being due to the multiple limitations of region, communications and economic base.

Besides, there is inequality in development opportunity.

Take college entrance examination for example. The examinees get the same marks, due to regional difference, however, some children can be admitted into brand universities, while some other children find their names are not on the published list.

This is the extremely complicated reality of China, positive and negative factors are mixed and intertwined, therefore it is difficult to unravel them or straighten them out.

Deng Xiaoping once pointed out with strategic foresight: The problem of the poor-rich gap and unfair distribution "shall be particularly brought up and resolved at the end of this century when China will have reached a moderately prosperous level". The "stratum, which got rich first" and once served as the engine of reform, have tasted the fruit of reform and openness earlier than others. Now it is time to establish a system requiring this portion of people and regions to feed the "late wealth-winning" strata and regions.

China has all along been making efforts in these aspects: Abolishing agricultural tax in a large scale, instituting tuition-free compulsory education among poverty-stricken population, intensifying efforts for the transfer of payment, and adjusting the cutoff point pf personal income tax. More strenuous efforts will likely be made in the days to come. New reforms will affect the vested interests of certain social strata and certain regions, which means the redistribution of social wealth. Some prices must be paid for lasting peace and stability and for real harmony of society.

The article is carried on the front page of People's Daily Overseas Edition, Oct. 27 and translated by People's Daily Online