The speech delivered by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, at the unveiling of the new Chinese leadership Thursday has won public praise. Hu Jintao, who has taken the initiative in retiring entirely from leading posts of the CPC Central Committee, demonstrated his nobility of character. All these mirror China's progressing reform, and social confidence is being boosted.

We should cherish this good atmosphere of public opinion. The authorities should endeavor to protect society's optimism toward the nation's prospects, and prevent such optimism from being tarnished by emerging social problems.

The central authorities should take the initiative in discussing various demands and appeals, and help build a public consensus on the tough tasks confronting China within the next five to 10 years. Such an initiative first requires a frank attitude.

Xi's speech touched on all the issues that are drawing the most social attention. His sincerity has set an example for the way in which Chinese authorities should talk about problems in the new era.

The central authorities also need to take pragmatic measures. New measures to curb corruption will not only consolidate the collective authority of the new leadership, but are also the key to long-term national stability.

In addition, improving the credibility of the authorities in the eyes of the public must be stressed. In this way, whenever a conflict emerges, candid, smooth interaction between officials and the public will be ensured.

It's impossible to solve all of China's problems through a packaged set of policies. The public generally understands this, and the support for the path laid out for the future remains strong, despite genuine complaints.

The authorities should promote reform and realize a few key breakthroughs, while enhancing communication with the public. This would help the public see China's accomplishments and understand its imperfect realities.

Facing certain social problems, the public may lose patience and exaggerate the effect of those problems on China's overall prospects.

This is partly because the public tend to focus on problems when many official organizations only talk about accomplishments. Besides, criticism is an inherent aspect of any open society.

Chinese society should ensure that criticism is based on facts and interact properly with the nation's political reform process.

China must make new achievements in the next decade. Meanwhile, it's equally important to shape a rational attitude among the public in terms of the nation's problems and progress.

Both are crucial to ensuring societal cohesion, and both are tough jobs for the new leadership.

 

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