Officials, victims strain to fix grassroots problems

• Source: The Global Times
• [00:04 May 12 2009]
• Comments

Fairness

In terms of fairness to the residents of his zone, about 50 percent has been achieved, believed Mu Xianwu, the zone’s leader.

“In terms of all sorts of demands being met, I would put the figure at 70 to 80 percent,” he said. Li Chunshou agreed. “Unfairness and lack of transparency in meeting people’s demands is the no. 1 issue here.”

Investigative teams found various and widespread complaints that often were not clearly addressed, according to a volunteer investigator surnamed Zhang who refused to give his full name.

Both in their 40s, Yang Yan and Li Shufen were both made homeless by the earthquake. Yang was a town resident and so received social insurance and medical insurance. Villager Li couldn’t receive these benefits even if she wanted to buy them.

“This is the policy of the whole country,” said Li. “It’s not targeted at earthquake-hit people.”

Wang Rong, who took part in the door-to-door investigation, disagrees on principle. “People died the same day, but the money for their death is different,” he said.

Every victim received 5,000 yuan from the government for each family member who died in the earthquake. But those at work units – mostly urban residents – were given extra compensation, whereas those without work units or villagers got nothing. Parents of Beichuan county students, including kindergarten students, were given more than 60,000 yuan each by three semi-official funds, according to Mu. But parents of children who did not attend either in Beichuan county received nothing from the funds.

Li said such unfairness was complicated, some of which was related to hukou practice in China.

Basic living allowances for urban and rural poor are also different: Living in the same prefab apartment zone, the former urban residents could get an average of more than 100 yuan a month as basic living stipend whereas villagers get somewhere between 30-80 yuan a month, said Mu.

“As the state policy is unchangeable,” said Li, “we came up with the idea that those who want to switch their IDs to urban resident are welcome to do that voluntarily, so that way they can enjoy all the benefits.”

But by switching to an urban identity, some villagers worried the government might then take away their original land use right.

Compensation for lost land use is the single most sensitive issue of all in devastated Beichuan County, said Zhang Min, head of the law enforcement office of the People’s Congress of Beichuan.

The relevant policies will come out only after publication of the earthquake relics protection practice, Zhang Min explained.