Old Cities on the Brink of Extinction

Oriental Outlook

September 11

Recently, Qiqihar in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province was designated a "national historical and cultural city." By August 21, 125 cities had been awarded the title by the Central Government. However, experts say many of them have not lived up to their names.

Alarmingly, areas that exemplify the cultural atmosphere of these time-honored cities have been damaged or have disappeared. The list of "historical and cultural cities" on the verge of extinction jointly proposed by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development in 2011 will be released later this year. Those famous locales that have not been well-preserved or are seriously damaged will be included on the list as a warning.

The protection of cities of historical and cultural interest has once again come to a crossroads; the last time was during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), when multitudes of ancient architecture and artifacts were destroyed. However, some consider the situation to be even worse this time around as many local officials, driven by the pursuit of increasing GDP in their cities, view protection of historical relics as a hindrance to economic growth. Some even argue that even if the old buildings are preserved, they cannot represent the area's achievements.

In order to better protect old cities, local officials must change these misconceptions. They must know which artifacts and buildings should be preserved and how to promote a city's development by the culture passed down through it.

How Are Leading Officials Selected?

China Newsweek

September 8

A revised regulation on the selection and appointment of leading officials of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and government agencies was published in the beginning of this year, marking the first revision since the original regulation was made 12 years ago. According to the new regulation, the convention of choosing leaders from reserve officials will be changed.

Training reserve officials was considered to be vital during the early 1980s, when capable civil servants were in severe shortage in China. In 1984, a list of reserve provincial- and ministerial-level officials, including around 1,100 people, was finalized. All members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the current and previous CPC Central Committees, China's top policy-makers, were on that list, with the exception of two.

Today, the importance of reserve officials is no longer as critical as it was in the 1980s. China is facing new challenges in selecting and appointing officials, as malpractices like under-the-counter dealings and corruption are often involved. President Xi Jinping has vowed to further reform the personnel system for public servants in order to address these problems and improve the public trust. The Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, which is mainly responsible for the system, is expected to be more transparent and open in its operations.

Equal Education Rights

Yangcheng Evening News

September 9

September marks the start of a new semester in schools across China. It is estimated that around 60 million children countrywide will have to be left behind by migrant worker parents, and their education—particularly on the family side—will undoubtedly be negatively affected. Meanwhile, a growing number of children who travel with their parents to large cities are also facing problems.

Take the south coastal province of Guangdong, for example: At the end of 2013, the province had about 4.5 million migrant children under the age of 17. Most of them were from rural areas, making up one fifth of the provincial population of minors.

Compared with those who are left behind, these children are at the very least able to live together with their parents, who are often too busy working to take care of them. Thus, these young people are easily harmed in big cities. The most serious problem they face, however, is that due to the lack of local hukou (household registration), migrant children are unable to receive an education as good as their urban peers.

The pressing task now is for the government to adopt measures ensuring migrant children's right to an education of equal quality. Given the huge migrant worker populations now inhabiting Chinese cities, a giant step forward is needed so that these rural minors can enjoy the same level of education as their peers in the cities that their parents have worked so hard to develop.