Social Stability - 129. page

Last Friday, September 14, 2012, the International Institute for Urban Development released the “Blue Book on China’s Social Management.” According to the Blue Book, the income disparity between the rich and poor in China continues to widen. China’s Gini coefficient hit 0.438, which is above the 0.4 United Nations warning level. (The UN usually draws the line for alarm at 0.4. Above that number indicates a high potential for social instability.) The figure went from 0.275 in the 1980s to 0.438 at the end of 2010 and will likely rise further.

The Blue Book cited statistics showing that urban residents’ income is three times that of rural residents. Within the same industry, the highest salary is 15 times that of the lowest salary. The income of senior management at companies whose stock is listed on stock exchanges is 18 times that of frontline employees. The salary of senior management at state-owned enterprises is 128 times that of the average salary of people in society. In 2007, the top 10 percent of the population received incomes that were 23 times those of the lowest 10 percent, an increase from the 7.3 times that was reported in 1988.

(Editor’s note: Radio Free Asia reported in January 2012 that the National Bureau of Statistics stated China’s Gini Coefficient for the year 2010 was “a little higher than it was for the year 2000.”)

Sources: Beijing News reprinted at sina.com, September 15, 2012
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2012-09-15/021925177383.shtml
RFA, January 9, 2012
http://chinascope.org/main/content/view/4218/109/

According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), Changjiang Commerce Newspaper in Hubei Province recently carried a news article reporting that 3,000 elementary students in Ma Chen City need to carry their own desks with them when they go to school. After this news was published, the reporter was threatened and the newspaper’s Deputy Editor was removed.

The reporter, Zhang Xuerong,  posted on his micro-blog that, since the news was published, he has received one text message after another warning him not to cause trouble. He had established a donation campaign to collect funds so the school could buy desks, but he had to stop it.

According to RFA, Changjiang Commerce Newspaper refused to comment on the removal of their Deputy Editor. An Internet writer told RFA that all the news media in China are currently under tight scrutiny due to the sensitivity of the upcoming Party Congress. Another overseas scholar expressed his concern about the lack investment in education in China and the imbalance between the city and the countryside in the allocation of resources for education.

Source: Radio Free Asia, September 6, 2012
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/xql-09062012162032.html

On September 7, 2012, the National Public Security Bureau held a forum in Dalian City, Liaoning Province.The Deputy Chiefs of the Public Security Bureaus around the country attended the forum. The forum summarized the experiences gathered in recent years in handling the emergency management of unexpected public events.

Zhou Yongkang spoke at the forum. He asked all levels to study and learn from how the situation of dealing with unexpected public events has been dealt with both domestically and abroad; to improve the ability to apply the law, the ability to work on civilians, the ability to manage the accident sites, and the ability to properly guide the media. He also asked all parties to firmly safeguard social stability and the people’s interest as well as the authority of the nation’s legal system in order to create a safe and stable social atmosphere in the period preceding the Party’s 18th National Congress.

Source: Xinhua, September 8, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-09/08/c_113005691.htm

On August 18, 2012, the Chinese Social Sciences Academic Press and the Shanghai Jiaotong University Center for Public Opinion Research jointly published the 2012 Blue Book, “Chinese Public Opinion and Crisis Management.”

According to the Blue Book, digital and online media continue to grow and, for the first time, have become the major channels in delivering breaking news. There has been a significant increase in news appearing on micro-blogs. Of all traditional media, newspapers have published the most breaking news, but they are falling behind the digital and online media. Statistics suggest that, in 2011, the breaking news carried by digital and online media increased 15 percent over 2007, and now accounts for 65 percent of all news reports, while traditional media only account for 30.8 percent.

The Blue Book reported that newspapers, the Internet, and micro-blogs are the three major channels for covering and presenting the news. In 2011, a total of 20.3 percent of the news was first published on micro-blogs compared to 9.3 percent in 2010. It has been predicted that more and more people will choose micro-blogs to expose the news, express their feelings, and share their knowledge.

Source: China News Service, August 18, 2012
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2012/08-18/4116699.shtml

On July 30, 2012, Sina carried a commentary originally published by Changjiang Daily, the official newspaper of the Wuhan Municipal Committee, titled, “It Is Urgent to Regain Legitimacy and the People’s Hearts.” The commentary attributed the cause of China’s current social conflicts to how the government has mishandled incidents. It urged the government to start immediately to repair the damage and regain the hearts of the people before it is too late.

According to the commentary, the increased number of mass riots and their intensity have reached a level that has never been seen before. The core cause is the government’s misconduct and its attitude when dealing with the situations. The government has chosen either to neglect the situation or handle the case with arrogance or a rude attitude. Some have tried to use money to reach a settlement.

The commentary stated that the measures that the government has used in handling situations have worn down its legitimacy and caused it to distance itself from the people. “They are avoiding the conflicts and increasing the intensity of conflicts with society. As a matter of fact they are wearing out their legitimacy and distancing themselves from the people.” The commentary further stated, “Economic achievement does not equate with or replace the legitimacy of the government. The major historical mission is how can the government rebuild its legitimacy and authority.” The commentary warned that the time to take action is not unlimited.

Source: Sina, July 30, 2012
http://news.sina.com.cn/pl/2012-07-31/081924875288.shtml

The Beijing municipal government, using a microblog, called on Beijing residents to make donations to help the victims of the deadly flood in Beijing. The ordinary citizens on the Internet responded to the microblog request with strong attacks. Internet users, one after another, not only refused to make donations; they also ridiculed and hurled accusations at the Beijing authorities. Within two hours of the donation account being opened, it received over 70,000 replies. Most of the replies used abusive, slandering language (in the category of four letter words). One of the most popular replies was "donate your sister.” It appeared 26,845 times.

Sources: Tianya, July 29, 2012 and Boxun, July 30, 2012
http://bbs.city.tianya.cn/tianyacity/content/5010/1/33913.shtml
http://boxun.com/news/gb/pubvp/2012/07/201207300919.shtml

On July 28, 2012, thousands of protesters in Qidong City, Jiangsu Province, held a large-scale mass demonstration against a pipeline construction project intended to discharge water piped away from a paper mill owned by Japan’s Oji Paper Co. The protesters broke into the government building and searched the offices for condoms, imported wine, and poker paraphernalia.

After the protest, the Qidong government stated on its website that it would “permanently halt” the water discharge project. However, the Qidong Municipal Public Security Bureau soon announced that it would retaliate against those who had participated in the protest and those who spread the news on the Internet.

Source: RFA, July 28, 2012
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/sy-07292012150531.html

In Dongwan district, Guangdong Province, since the beginning of the summer vacation, cases involving missing children have risen sharply. The police in Dalang town, Dongwan City, announced that 49 children had been kidnapped or lost between July 1 and 23, 2012. On average, two children have "disappeared" on a daily basis. Most of those lost are the children of migrant workers from other provinces.

According to an NTDTV report, since Dongwan police ignore reports of missing children, traffickers openly take the children in Dongwan. 

Source: NTDTV, July 31, 2012
http://ntdtv.ca/b5/2012/07/31/Art80178.html