This litany is
not sustainable and the moment the economy falters its cash driven expansion,
public rage can consume the highly visible exploiter class unless the present
regime really does rein in the abuse. It
is as likely to be too little too late.
On the other
hand, these are all issues that can be addressed by an activist government even
in the lowest levels and should be.
Those that do will send a signal to others to up their game.
It will be worthwhile
to watch news items for real progress.
6 Most
Disastrous Financial Woes Eroding Chinese People’s Wealth
By Epoch Times |
October 7, 2013
According to a survey in the Wall Street
Journal, the richest 10 percent of households in China controlled 86.7
percent of total wealth in 2011. Similarly, a report released by the World Bank
states that 130 million people in China have to survive on less than one U.S.
dollar a day.
Netizens in China recently identified the six most
disastrous ways Chinese people suffer financial loss in their country,
including stock market turmoil, corruption, and “red envelopes.”
1. Stock
Market
Statistics show that China’s stock market underwent
26 price hikes within a 20-year span between May 1991 and May 2011. Meanwhile,
the secondary market suffered a 30 percent loss, which is equivalent to 2
trillion yuan (US$320 billion) of accumulative loss.
A veteran investor going by “Sharp Grandpa” said
that his 20-year investment experience in China’s stock market boils down to
one word—rage.
He has another word, darkness, to describe China’s
stock market, saying, “China’s stock market is 10 or even 100 times darker than
its professional soccer league—misappropriating money anywhere it can.”
2. Bank Savings
China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported that
the CPI (Consumer Price Index) increased 5.4 percent in 2011. Comparing that to
the latest interest rate for a one-year term CD at 3.5 percent, the actual
interest rate is negative 1.9 percent.
In an episode widely distributed on the Internet,
Tan, an elderly woman from Sichuan Province, deposited 400 yuan (US$64) in a
bank in 1977. At that time, this money could buy an apartment. Thirty-three
years later, the deposit only generated 438 yuan (US$70) of interest. After
taxes of 2.36 yuan (US$0.4) were deducted, the total amount Tan received was
836 yuan (US$137)—just enough for a bottle of Maotai, a famous Chinese liquor.
In the early 1970s, 10 yuan (US$1.6) could buy 14.3
pounds of pork. Nowadays, it can barely buy one pound of pork. In 1976, the
monthly wage of a blue-color worker was 39 yuan (US$6.4). Today, this wage
cannot cover the cost of living in a major Chinese city for one day.
3. Illness
The cost of medicines in China are among the highest
in the world. A recent survey conducted by state-owned media People’s
Daily indicates that numerous patented drugs are marketed in Hong Kong and
China with a substantial price difference. For example, Herceptin, a drug for
breast cancer treatment, costs 24,500 yuan (US$4,002) per dose in China, while the
same prescription in Hong Kong costs only 14,800 yuan (US$2,418).
In a report by Beijing Business Today, an
executive of a drug company in Beijing was quoted as saying, “When calculating
drug prices, operating costs and bribery make up about 20 to 30 percent of the
selling price.”
4. Retirement
Plans
According to Sohu Business, a
financial commentator said that China has the highest pension plan premiums in
the world.
Some Chinese call China’s social insurance a Ponzi
scheme. Chinese citizens don’t qualify for pension benefits until they have
paid premiums for at least 15 years. So, you have to stick with the same job
for 15 years. But this can be impossible for people working out of town; they
may be paying into a plan but getting nothing in return.
5. Fraud
Fraud is rampant in China; it takes 300 billion yuan (US$49 billion) from the
Chinese people each year according to share.inside.com.
In Hangzhou City alone, nine cases of mobile phone
text message frauds, involving 5.44 million yuan (US$889,000) of illegal
profits, occurred in one day. Total profits generated through fraudulent text
messaging amounts to 20 billion yuan (US$3.3 billion) per year.
Seven thousand illegal companies in China are
involved in financial investments. Over half of them have bilked the Chinese
people of 45 billion yuan (US$7.4 billion).
6. Bribes
Traditionally, Chinese people believed that one’s
good fortune is not entirely due to one’s personal efforts, and one should
share the blessings received in life, thus, the custom to give away money in
red envelopes to friends and relatives to express one’s appreciation. But
nowadays, to make a living in China, people have to prepare red envelopes for
all matters, including getting married, having a baby, moving, getting a
promotion, being enrolled in school, or hospitalized.
Xinmin Evening News, another communist Party
mouthpiece, reported that a resident in Shanghai received and accepted 10
invitations last year during the October holidays. After giving 400 yuan
(US$65) to each host, his wages for the month were gone.
A report on Modern Express told of a man
named Shi from Nanjing, who has six sisters and 14 nephews and nieces. He
dreads every Chinese New Year because he is expected to give a red envelope to
each niece and nephew. Shi eventually called a family meeting and informed
everyone that he was giving up the title of uncle.
Media statistics show that 60 percent of Chinese
parents also dislike giving gifts to their children’s teachers. But in reality,
70 percent of them do it.
Researched by Hsin-Yi Lin, translated by Leo Chen.
Written in English by Arleen Richards and Gisela Sommer.
Read the original Chinese
article.
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