China has been working on income distribution reform since 2004. Nevertheless, a general plan, which was supposed to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2012, has not yet been released.

The public attributed the failure to obstruction from monopoly SOEs and related authorities.

However, officials from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council insist that they shouldn't be blamed, as personnel appointment and wage delineation are not their responsibility.

They also claim that not all SOEs come under their supervision and administration.

This isn't unfounded. However, before complaining, authorities should make clear to what degree they have played a positive role in promoting income distribution reform in the country.

In an earlier draft put forward by the National Development and Reform Commission, the proportion of revenue SOEs hand over to authorities should be raised by 50 percent, which was rejected by these enterprises.

At the current key stage of the release of the reform plan, management authorities should lend support to reform efforts and urge these enterprises to change their anti-reform attitude.

Some media outlets argue that interest groups, made up of corrupt officials, monopoly enterprises, and property and resource industries, are the three main groups hindering the release of the income distribution reform plan.

Due to their obstruction, the reform details concerning the breaking of monopolies and restrictions on the income of monopoly industries cannot be passed or may even fail to be carried out.

On the one hand, the reform does indeed intrude on their interests.

But on the other hand, as these groups have the power to influence public policy, whether their obstruction can be eliminated is key to whether the reform can be carried out successfully.

Income distribution reform is a guideline and hasn't touched upon concrete details such as the wage system, tax system and SOE system.

It is not difficult to imagine what obstruction and pressure it will face when the reform of these systems is carried out.

Income distribution reform is bound to harm the interests of certain groups in this country.

We must be prepared for any difficulties. The release of a plan is a matter of days away, while the real test has just started.

Beijing Youth Daily