Lavish centenary plans draw concern
- Source: Global Times
- [00:13 March 09 2010]
- Comments
By Ji Beibei
The Wuhan government's plan to spend 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) to celebrate the centenary of the Xinhai Revolution, the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, has stirred debate among residents who say the government has failed to effectively use public money.
Ruan Chengfa, the mayor of Wuhan, Hubei Province, and also a deputy to the National People's Congress, told the Xinhua News Agency that a grand celebration is needed because the revolution is a landmark event in China and even Asia, as it ended feudalism. Wuhan is the birthplace of the revolution.
The revolution led by Sun Yat-sen began with the Wuchang Uprising on October 10, 1911 and concluded with the abdication of Emperor Puyi on February 12, 1912, when the Republic of China was established to replace the Qing Dynasty.
The China News Service reported that the Wuhan government will repair some historical sites, including the bronze statue of Sun and the memorial hall of the Wuchang Uprising.
The government will spend about 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) to build new facilities, such as the Zhongshan warship museum, a revolution museum and a memorial statue.
Another 10 billion yuan will be spent to improve infrastructure, including the transportation network.
The city government will also organize seminars on the revolution, produce a docu-mentary, a drama and a series of books.
A local newspaper, the Changjiang Times, reported earlier that the recovery work on 27 cultural relics related to the revolution is expected to be completed by August 2011.
Media reports say some delegates to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference have suggested that the Communist Party of China and the Kuomintang in Taiwan should hold a joint centenary celebration.
A local resident, Xu Yiming, told the Global Times Monday that the celebration is politically meaningful.
"Representatives from Taiwan will be invited to the celebration, which is beneficial to the reunion of the nation," Xu said.
But some Internet users expressed objections, criticizing it as a waste of taxpayers' money.
One from Wuhan said the government always complains about the lack of money when it comes to projects that improve the public's livelihood.
Statistics issued by the Hubei government last year revealed that the average annual income of the city's urban residents was about 10,000 yuan ($1,464), while for rural residents it was around 5,000 yuan ($732). Another Internet user from Henan Province also objected to the project, and questioned whether it is worth the huge amount of money, even though the project is necessary.
Chen Xiushan, a professor of urban management from Renmin University, told the Global Times Monday that some governments are unaware of the level of public desire to know how their tax is spent and for closer supervision of their work.
