Central govt’s concern for people sets example for local officials

Source:Global Times Published: 2020/2/25 10:28:40

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivers an important speech at a meeting to advance the work on coordinating the prevention and control of the COVID-19 and economic and social development, in Beijing, Feb. 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

At the unprecedented national videophone conference on Sunday, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech on coordinating the fight against epidemic and economic and social development. The speech was very comprehensive, reaching the grass-roots level and reaching the hearts of the people.

In his speech, President Xi echoed the concerns of the people from Hubei Province to the whole country. Some people have been worried that some local authorities will "deceive" the central government by only reporting the good news, but through this speech, we can clearly see that the central government is fully aware of and in control of the situation at the forefront of the fight against the epidemic.

In addition to the public channels of information, journalists working at frontline in Hubei also reported a great deal through internal channels. It seems that those information has been sent very effectively to the central government. What's happening in the grass roots, the heroic performance of the various teams fighting against the epidemic, the serious problems and the institutional shortcomings in the process have not escaped the notice of the central government. Information channel is unobstructed between Zhongnanhai and grassroots society.
 
The speech touched a large number of pressing issues concerning people's livelihood. It is believed this speech will give a strong impetus to relevant work.

In his speech, President Xi talked about helping medium, small and micro businesses to tide over difficulties. He was also concerned about people's unemployment insurance benefits and the employment of college graduates. He talked about very detailed issues such as opening up the flow of people and logistics for resumption of work and resumption of production, and was also concerned about agriculture during the spring ploughing period, prices, poverty, families in distress due to the epidemic, and so on, all of which are key points for the protection of the interests of ordinary people.

Have our local officials all achieved this kind of people-centered focus? Have they heard and listened to the voices of the people? Wuhan and Hubei Province held two sessions in January this year, just as the epidemic spread, what are the people's most fundamental interests? Where should people's health and safety be placed, and why did they make the mistake?

Throughout the country, some local officials distance themselves from the ordinary people from time to time. Formalism and bureaucracy are getting more and more. The primary goal of a few officials is not how to serve the people under their jurisdiction effectively and arrange for their long-term interests, but how to avoid issues and accumulate capital for promotion. 

Of course, it's not easy for many grassroots officials. They are at the forefront of aligning national policies with the complex realities of the community at the grassroots level. Many of them have a sense of responsibility and work hard. But in the vast majority of cases, it is not difficult to distinguish between the difficulty of those grassroots officials and the irresponsible and opportunistic practices of some people caused by the bureaucracy criticized in this article.

Despite lessons of SARS in 2003, a bigger public health emergency still happened.  It can only be explained that officials in some places have failed to put the interests of the people first. They have failed the trust of the Party and the trust of the people.

The greatest instruction from the central government is to serve the people. Pay more attention to what the people are thinking and talk about. Don't run against the public opinion at any time. Lip service to loyalty does not count. It is the greatest loyalty of an official to fulfill their responsibility of governance and rally the people more firmly around the CPC Central Committee. 



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