Chinese society can continue to develop harmoniously only if the elites pay proper attention to and help solve the problems that grassroots people face, says an article in Changjiang Daily. Excerpts:

After making an on-the-spot survey of Zhenghe county in Fujian province, a female doctoral student from Xiamen University wrote in her micro blog that she would never work at the grassroots level.

In the eyes of most people, grassroots people are nothing more than the lowest level of society, where ordinary people enjoy life. The doctoral student's so-called investigation or survey lasted just three days, and she and her fellow students lived in the best hotel in the county. The student "surveyors" did nothing but listen to local officials' views on the situation of the poverty-stricken county.

As a doctoral student in economics, her conclusion is that "this is a shabby place without a supermarket, and the food here tastes bad, and chefs of the hotel should be changed".

Of course, we cannot blame her for her decision not to work for any organization at the grassroots level. Nor should we pass a moral judgment on her for her opinions in the micro blog.

As an individual, she has the freedom to choose her career. She also has the right not to work at the grassroots level. However, what led her to make such a decision and value judgment deserves some serious thought.

Highly educated people are becoming the main body of the social elite, which has a strong voice. The way they express their opinions and exercise their right to speak in public is critical for solving social problems and promoting social progress.

It's high time the elites started getting close to and taking care of the grassroots people and fulfilled their obligatory social responsibility.

The doctorial student's views remind us that if the elites detest life at the grassroots level, ignore the sufferings and hardships of the people, and pay attention only to their self-interests, they will only aggravate social problems and hinder China's reforms.

(China Daily 08/22/2012 page9)