Wu Hao, the head of the publicity department of the Honghe Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, voluntarily disclosed the license plate number of his public vehicle recently, stirring heated public debate.

In a recent media interview, Wu talked about the concept of "micro reform," which focuses on details and seeks to solve everyday problems closely associated with civil livelihood - essentially the steps that individual officials can take. Micro reform, in contrast to the concept of "macro reform" which involves top-down measures, seems a more feasible path.

However, more than a few Web users have expressed opposition, stating that micro reform cannot replace macro reform, and that the success of reform only depends on whether there is top-down systematic reform.

Although micro reform and macro reform cannot replace each other, advocating one method and rejecting the other actually run against the purpose of reform.

The conflict of views between Wu and these netizens reflects the difference between officials and the public in understanding China's reform process.

According to Wu, the notion of dramatically introducing systematic reform is quite idealistic or even radical. For instance, the abolishment of public vehicles among officials below the provincial and ministerial level could not be realized overnight.

Wu's perspective has its loopholes. Systematic reform often concentrates on historical problems, which are difficult to address. In this sense, if systematic reform is infinitely delayed, it may not be good news for social progress.

But on the other hand, Wu's view is not groundless. Many people, who aspire to systematic reform, often expect overnight changes and instant achievements. But objectively speaking, any reform calls for a transitional period, which means it's difficult to achieve the best effects in a short time.

The gap between public aspirations and realistic difficulties often makes government efforts face a chilled response from the public. The questioning of Wu's micro reform is one example.

Essentially, micro reform and macro reform are equally important. Since China's reform and opening-up, both micro and macro reforms have taken place in China. What really matters is whether changes are indeed made.

It is common for some micro reforms to only touch upon unimportant details rather than the essence of the issue. At the same time, some so-called macro reforms focus on dealing with symptoms, rather than practically solving the causes. Such reforms fail to grasp the essence of the issue and cannot be regarded as real reforms.

Changjiang Daily