CPC to convene 5th plenary session tomorrow
(chinadaily.com.cn/Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-10-06 11:35

The "harmonious society" initiative has stemmed out of awareness of the social problems cropping up in the process of China's rapid economic development, which might hold back the country's sustainable progress and brew up into real social crisis if they are not dealt with properly, said Dr. Ding Yuanzhu, a sociologist with the Academy of Macro-economic Research under the State Development & Reform Commission.

In fact, noted Ding, China has never put "harmonious society" above economic progress. "The idea of social harmony demonstrates the central government's determination to overcome thorny social problems caused by inadequate policy decisions and overheated economic development."
During the past 26 years, China has created an economic miracle with GDP growing at a dazzling rate of 9.5 percent annually. Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show that the total amount of GDP hit 13.65 trillion yuan (US$1.68 trillion) in 2004.

However, the economic success does not necessarily promise social stability. "A most severe social crisis often erupts at the time when economy reaches its most flourishing stage. Ominously, a range of negative social elements have emerged. These include widening disparities between the rich and the poor and between urbanites and farmers, worsening unemployment, and deteriorating ecological system," Ding said.

Farmers Left Behind

Farmers may feel the inequity more than other groups. In the process of rapid urbanization, millions of farmers have lost land and have been neglected in the economic growth. Some have come to cities, taking almost all the poorly-paid jobs.

Among them are Zhang Yong and his wife from a southwestern mountainous village, who came to Beijing, the national capital, five years ago, making a living by selling vegetables in a residential area full of high-ranking officials in western Beijing.

Parents of two teenagers, the couple gets up at 2:00 am in the morning to get the freshest vegetables at the best possible price at a wholesale market. The 35-year-old husband complains, "We have to work 17 hours a day on average to make ends meet, earning 800 yuan a month. There is no money for entertainment. At best we just take a day off."

Even so, the wife says, "life still is better than it is in the countryside, where you might not get in anything if the weather doesn't bless you. Here in Beijing, you can always have some cash in your pockets at the end of year."