Speaking truth to power hard for officials
- Source: Global Times
- [21:11 March 07 2010]
- Comments
Zhang Weiqing, director of the Committee of Population, Resources and Enviornment of the CPPCC National Committee, lashed out against corruption, the purchase of official positions and extravagant spending on banquets within China's officialdom during Saturday's group discussion at the 3rd session of the 11th National Committee of the CCPCC. Zhang said officials should work to change an atmosphere in which they find it increasingly hard to tell the truth.
Some officials dare not tell the truth not only during meetings, but also during routine work. Many of them keep silent or just tell some superficial facts.
Currently, some proposals at the "two sessions" are either wildly unrealistic or merely formulaic. This is a demonstration of telling falsehoods.
Tacit rules in officialdom prevent officials from telling the truth. Some leaders do not want to be challenged. Therefore, speaking the truth appears risky whereas flattery may bring windfalls.
As a result, some officials dare not speak the truth to their superiors on the one hand, and are not willing to hear the truth from their subordinates or civilians on the other. Many hasty decisions and vanity projects are typical products of this.
China's traditional official-centered ideas haven't completely changed. In the eyes of many officials, a leader's words are the truth. As time goes by, officials find it increasingly difficult to tell the truth.
Last November, Li Yuanchao, head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, pointed out during a training class for heads of organization departments of the CPC committees at different levels, that upright men should be valued and cronyism must be slashed. Li was also encouraging officials to tell the truth.
Only by encouraging and protecting outspoken officials through system construction, can "telling the truth" become an indispensable part of officials' political character.
Guangzhou Daily
