Legitimacy of China's cadres
For China's Local Officials, a New Test
"Traditionally dismissed as do-nothing, often-corrupt paper pushers, local functionaries are now bearing the responsibility for keeping people safe following this month's earthquake, anticipating their needs and getting real answers to their questions. Their role has been striking in a country where the Communist Party's vow to "serve the people" has long been regarded by many as an empty slogan..."Government propaganda has unceasingly told people in the quake zone to "trust the government" in how it manages the aftermath of the earthquake, which has left 80,000 dead or missing. Many here in Mianyang city have little choice. They have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods.
"But for their faith in government to endure, local officials must deliver on the promise that people will be taken care of...
"'Rebuilding after the earthquake could be a turning point for local government's image,' said Ren Jianming, a professor at the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University. 'Corruption so easily happens and used to happen so much.'...
"Local officials are being blamed by parents of the estimated 9,000 schoolchildren who died when their classrooms collapsed around them during the earthquake, burying them in the rubble. The parents allege that corrupt officials turned a blind eye to substandard construction...
See also: China Protests
Labels: China, legitimacy, parties, politics
posted by Ken Wedding @ 10:29 AM
3 Comments:
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More effort made to preserve legitimacy. Asking media to be a watchdog is new in China.
China tightens management on quake donation, asking auditors, supervision departments, media to watch over
"China's State Council, or cabinet, issued a circular Saturday to tighten management on donated quake relief material and fund, asking the audit offices, supervision departments and media to watch over malpractice.
"It asked the audit offices and fiscal departments to track how the government departments and non-governmental organizations handled the donation and publicize the results regularly..."
Police break up protest by parents of China earthquake victims
"Chinese police broke up a demonstration today by angry parents protesting about the deaths of their children in poorly constructed schools during last month's earthquake.
"About 100 parents, many holding pictures of their dead children, were forced away from a court in Dujiangyan in Sichuan province...
"Journalists were dragged away from today's protest, which was being held to coincide with a visit to Dujiangyan by Li Changchun, the country's fifth-ranked ruler..."
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