Chinese Bid Farewell to Outworn Doctrine of Egalitarianism

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, January 20, 2003

Chinese Bid Farewell to Outworn Doctrine of Egalitarianism

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The philosophy of "no worry about poverty but about inequality", with which feudal thinkers indoctrinated people in China for thousands of years, has been elucidated by some contemporary scholars as the root cause of its people's attitude of egalitarianism.

Egalitarianism, which was handed down in history, had led to a strong sense of animosity towards the wealthy people in China's long-standing history, whereas equality in ownership of land and assets has always been the repeated crying demand of uprising peasants under the ruthless rule of successive dynasties.

So how is that egalitarianism was even denounced and entrepreneurship hailed at the historic 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held in mid-November last year and in the Party's constitution?

A tax-evasion case against former film actress Liu Xiaoqing not only triggered a nationwide anti-tax-evasion campaign late last year, but also stirred up disagreement on the above question.

Does the people's censure of the famous film star suggest a still-simmering egalitarianism and animosity towards the better-off people?

While quite a number of people nod to the question and warn that animosity towards the wealthy might affect and hurt the healthy growth of the national economy, an article authored by Shang Ziyong in "China Youth Daily" argued that people's fervent hatred towards the illegal practice of some millionaires like Liu is a pressing call for justice and does not arise from jealousy.

Admitting the fact that some people are jealous of rich people and the jealousy might lead to hatred, the author said such jealous people are far from representative of the whole.

In Wenzhou, a city in east China's Zhejiang province, a survey showed that Nan Cunhui, a local magnate, stood side by side with acclaimed film director Zhang Yimou as young people's icon.

The 39-year-old Nan Cunhui, owner of the Chint Group, an electrical appliances business, ranks 58th on the Forbes list of the 100 richest Chinese people. Starting his business with a light switch factory at the age of 21, Nan now reportedly possesses wealth of over 800 million yuan (about 100 million US dollars).

Yang Fangshan, a taxi driver from Nan's hometown, one of the most entrepreneurial towns in China, said Nan has become a pride and model of Wenzhou people.

Yang, a contemporary of Nan with 11 years' experience of taxi driving, said he also ran a business before he shifted to the steering wheel.

"Nan and I both used to be farmers and Nan was also a cobbler. We departed from the same starting line, but I didn't achieve as much and lagged too far behind. I admire him!" Yang said.

After the exposure of Liu Xiaoqing's evasion case, the Forbes list of richest Chinese people for a time was a taboo among some Chinese entrepreneurs. They feared the declaration of their wealth would cause them trouble.

Miao Shouliang, a real estate tycoon in Shenzhen, the country's showcase of opening-up and reform in south China's Guangdong province, said that he had no fear of being known for his wealth.

"As long as I earn the money legally, there's nothing for me to worry about at all," the number 43 on the Forbes' richest Chinese people list said. "I am convinced that the Forbes list will help promote the popularity of my business as well as myself."

Wu Minyi, deputy mayor of Wenzhou city in eastern Zhejiang province in charge of non-state enterprises, said though the wealth gap between people still exists and always will, there is mostly no great gulf between the extreme wealthy and the extreme needy.

"For people of Wenzhou, their concern is when and how to get asrich as Nan Cunhui," Wu said. "They not only take Nan as an icon to admire, but also learn management experience from his success story. I don't believe such a healthy concept will foster animosity towards the rich."

Xia Yichang, a provincial official in charge of the united front related work, who has been keeping a close watch on the development of non-state enterprises in Zhejiang, said that in an environment of fair play there is absolutely no need to worry about any simmering animosity towards the affluent people in society.

Statistics shows that more than 1,100 billion yuan (132.5 billion US dollars) of private capital in China has not been utilized, which analysts say is partly attributed to loopholes in the regulation of property rights.

Deputies to the National People's Congress last year proposed a law on protection of private property and their proposal attracted extensive coverage in the country's media.

President Jiang Zemin assured at the 16th CPC National Congress that all legitimate income, from work or not, will be protected. He also pointed out that all resources, including knowledge, technology, management and capital, will be brought into full play to build a well-off society and benefit the people.

In Wuchuan, a city in Guangdong province, private business owners' stories of success and their contribution to local economyare publicized by local government.

Kuang Tianxing, deputy mayor of the city, said the publicity drive has drawn back some local business owners who moved out of the city in fear of animosity from locals.

In the short term, analysts said, the society's long and deep-rooted animosity towards the rich will not vanish. In some relatively underdeveloped regions in the country's northeast and west, occasionally there are sporadic reports about the kidnapping or blackmail of private business owners and their family members.

"In fact, who possesses the wealth is not the most critical problem," said Jiang Jianye, a prestigious researcher with the Development Research Center of Guangdong provincial government. "The crux of matter," he noted, "hinges on how the wealth can be used efficiently to create still more wealth for the whole of society. When all people in China come to recognize this, the sense of animosity towards the rich in their blood will gradually cool down."

"Fortunately, an increasing number of Chinese people have realized this fact and we are well on the way," Jiang said.

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