By Li Hong, People's Daily Online

Man-made inequality is weird and despicable in this country's high-profile drive to attain social harmony, a lofty goal for different governments on the globe. That the central authorities in China, shepherding continuous growth, are making painstaking efforts to spread wealth, and extend 9-year free-tuition education, medical insurance and pension coverage nationwide, is exemplary and should be lauded.

However, two recent decisions by two local governments in Shanghai and Henan Province struck the opposite cord. They are in essence discriminatory, turning the governments' cool back on the poor and the voiceless.

The draft legislation on collective housing rentals, put online by Shanghai municipal government to solicit public opinion and appraisals, requires each tenant to have a minimum living space of seven square meters. We all know that the average living space of middle-class Shanghai residents has now hovered above 20 square meters, after the city has been greatly developed in the past 30 years.

But, if the draft legislation becomes law, tens of thousands of migrant workers who come from rural areas, and the newly college graduates and the impoverished in the city would have been driven homeless. Why? Because these people standing at the lower end of the economic ladder simply cannot afford to enjoy 7-square-meter living "luxury". For the migrant workers who build and serve the metropolises braving scotching heat and freezing cold, a penny saved is additional happiness for a whole family back home.

Shanghai government tried to justify the measure, saying too crowded and cramped accommodations might make them succumb to fire and health hazards, which would surely embarrass local officials before all the countrymen. However, by enacting the 7-square-metre standard but giving the poor no subsidies, the life of the weak and voiceless will be made even harder. And, many will have to leave the city.

There are many things the most developed city in China could do to improve the welfare of the migrant workers who have done a ton for it, say, financing inexpensive housing for them. The least thing the city should do is to force them to the wall. It won't help social stability either, and run against the rule of fair play and fair government. Shanghai needs to rev up public awareness among residents in preventing fires and infectious diseases from happening, and increase alertness, but not forcing workers to over-spend.

Another decision that provoked public outcry stems from Anyang City, Henan Province, central China. Days ago, the city decreed that non-Chinese visitors would get free-of-charge access to its 12 major tourism sites. The plan aims at luring more alien sightseers to the city, home to one of China's most ancient historical treasures, the Yinxu oracles. The Chinese however will have to cough up 50 yuan for a ticket.

The different treatment towards Chinese and non-Chinese has got many mad in the cyberspace, with many mocking at the local government belittling home visitors. Maybe the city aspires to attract more foreign visitors, but the policy demarcates two groups of people by dangling two different baits. It is very discriminatory. It is not too late for the city to correct the mistake.

The article represents the author's view only. It does not represent opinions of People's Daily or People's Daily Online.