High growth can't hide problems
- By Hongyi Lai
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China Daily, August 19, 2011
The incident also shed light on the dynamics of the interaction between discontented people, local officials and the central government. As the riots in Weng'an became a national and international news headline, top leaders in China immediately acted to address the popular grievances there.
In June, riots broke out in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The direct trigger was the death of a Mongolian herdsman protesting against a local mine in Xilin Gol League. A driver for the coal mine company was said to have intentionally run over the herdsman. This tragedy triggered protests by more than 1,000 students in front of the local government offices.
Ironically, since 2003, Inner Mongolia has been the leading Chinese region in terms of annual economic growth, even outstripping the booming coastal economies. Xilin Gol League, the epicenter of this year's protest, is no laggard either. In 2009, its GDP grew by 21.5 percent, the fourth-highest of the 12 prefectures in the autonomous region.
Its per capita GDP reached 47,000 yuan (5,100 euros), surpassing the national average of 40,200 yuan. Nevertheless, reckless extraction of coal by mining companies has created serious environmental degradation. Mining and trucking activities have led to destruction of pasture, which the Mongolian herders regard as the primary source and symbol of their traditional livelihood.
In 2009, the number of sheep in the league declined by 9 percent compared to the previous year. This led to the clash between herders and employees of the trucking companies. Herders do not benefit as much as they should from the high growth. In the league, the per capita income of farmers and herders were ranked only eighth of the 12 prefectures.
The blatant pursuit of growth is not limited to underdeveloped provinces and rural areas. Even in the cities, local officials have developed the habit of building eye-catching towers and landmarks, but shun the basic and hardly visible projects that can benefit average dwellers in the cities.
The former, they reason, can impress their superiors, business visitors and tourists. After all, no one pays close attention to the underground drainage systems that help channel waste and rainwater. Both officials and ordinary people paid the price for this neglect in June when several large and rapidly developing cities in China were inundated after a few hours of heavy rain.
In Beijing Capital International Airport, the runway was flooded. In the streets, cars and buses were submerged and traffic was paralyzed until late into the night. In Wuhan, the famed East Lake rapidly swamped the nearby universities, and campuses were transformed into water theme parks for the students. These incidents caused uproar among citizens toward local governments.
These examples suggest that economic growth alone does not offer a simple solution for social problems and conflict. In the course of development it is vital that common people, not just the elite, benefit from strong economic growth. Blatant pursuit of growth and a disregard for the legitimate interests of ordinary people will lead to social tension and undermine stability. After all, local residents' genuine satisfaction with local development is much more important than showy development projects and impressive growth statistics.
A culture change is needed among the ranks of local officials. Many officials view high growth as the ultimate barometer of governance of their localities. They often regard local residents' legitimate demands for the protection of their interests as obstacles to rapid economic development. They favor swift acquisition of rural land for industrial parks and property developments and provide low compensation to farmers to reduce business costs and woo investors.
One of the most serious and widespread cases of infringement of rights arises from the use of agricultural land. It is estimated that from 1987 to 2001, 34 to 51 million farmers lost their land to non-agricultural use. According to a survey of 10 provinces, 69 percent of the land for industrial parks was acquired by local authorities illegally. In many of these cases, inadequate compensation was commonplace.
In inland provinces such as Henan, Yunnan, and Shanxi, farmers' income declined by 25 percent, 26 percent and 9.4 percent respectively. Even in coastal areas such as Tianjin and Liaoning, despite the higher income after compensation, farmers who lost land suffered from a real decline in income as a result of them moving into urban areas where living expenses were higher.
High economic growth is no panacea for social and political problems. Stability can be earned not only through stimulating economic growth, but also by fairly distributing its benefits among the population and respecting their legitimate rights and interests. This mixture of policies is a far more effective remedy for social problems than growth alone.
Only by addressing the negative side of its governance can China experience genuine social stability in the course of high growth. Inviting people to judge the performance of their officials is thus necessary. Otherwise, social protests will continue.
The author is associate professor and PhD program director at the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies and the China Policy Institute at the University of Nottingham. The opinions expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
