'Rich China' report sparks controversy

• Source: Global Times
• [21:31 April 14 2009]

 By Liang Chen

A report on the income of China’s urban workforce has triggered rampant suspicions among the country’s netizens. And some analysts note that while China has entered into its most affluent period in history, the income gap might be the potential world power’s Achilles’ heel.

The report, issued by the National Bureau of Statistical (NBS) yesterday, puts the average daily pay of an urban-workforce laborer at 111 yuan, about $16.50. The average annual income shows a 4,292 yuan increase over last year.

Civil servants the richest

Results indicate that civil servants comprise the richest group in the country, followed by those working in government-sponsored institutions, particularly schools and hospitals. Those working
in private enterprises are generally the poorest.

An examination site for civil servant qualification test in Jiangsu Province

In the booming East China region, the workforce earns almost 10,000 yuan more a year than those in Central China, the poorest region.

In the meantime, a McKinsey & Company report released this month indicates that China is expected to have the most “wealthy” households by 2015, with more than 4 million.

The “rich,” the report said, are those making more than 250,000 yuan a year.

The two reports caused quite a stir after their releases. On China’s main news portal,Sina.com, the NBS report generated nearly 20,000 reaction posts within just a few hours, with many distrusting the results, calling them fabricated. They base their opinions mostly on their own salaries.

Others questioned the reason for such a study, as the income gap is increasing “at an unbearable rate.” “The average income is rated so high simply because the top 10 percent control a disproportionate share of the nation’s wealth,” one post said.