h******y
发帖数: 1374 | 1 Beijing Bling: Wealth On Display In China's Congress
http://tinyurl.com/7pd4qy6
March 13, 2012
A leather belt from Hermes priced at almost $1,000 — nearly a year's salary
for the average Chinese farmer. A bright pink, $2,000 trouser suit from
Emilio Pucci. A red snakeskin Celine handbag that costs $4,500.
These weren't items at a fashion show, but luxury goods spotted on delegates
hurrying to China's annual legislative assembly sessions.
Li Xiaolin, daughter of former Chinese Premier Li Peng, attends the opening
ceremony of the CPPCC in Beijing, March 3, 2012. Her suit — by Italian
designer Emilio Pucci — is estimated to cost $2,000.
Liao Pan/ColorChinaPhoto/AP
Li Xiaolin, daughter of former Chinese Premier Li Peng, attends the opening
ceremony of the CPPCC in Beijing, March 3, 2012. Her suit — by Italian
designer Emilio Pucci — is estimated to cost $2,000.
The casual toting of such exorbitantly expensive clothing and accessories
illustrates China's ever-widening wealth gap. And it also underpins claims
that the country's legislative body — more or less a rubber stamp for
government policy — is becoming a "rich man's club."
"When I first saw so many delegates wearing luxury items, my first response
is to wonder whether they could come up with proposals concerning the bitter
lives of ordinary people," says a 23-year-old photo editor, who asked that
her name not be disclosed. The photo editor was the first to collate and
post the photos online, but said she wasn't making a statement against rich
people, she was simply raising her concerns regarding corruption.
"China doesn't really have a transparent and just system of supervision,
such as publicizing officials' wealth," she says. "The most obvious and
effective way of doing this is seeing what they're wearing, especially
luxury items which are not necessities."
There was public outrage at "Beijing Fashion Week," as netizens
sarcastically called the annual meeting of the legislative assembly. It
prompted an order from the Communist Party's Central Propaganda Department
not to hype the "gourmet food," clothing or accessories of the deputies.
But the truth is the National People's Congress, or NPC, includes some of
China's richest people. This is partly because being a legislator or
government adviser is only a part-time commitment, so many also hold high-
paying jobs. It also stems from the decision 10 years ago by Communist Party
Secretary-general Jiang Zemin to allow capitalists into the party.
Delegate and Hong Kong cosmetics entrepreneur Cheng Ming Ming carries a
Louis Vuitton Alma handbag and wears a fur coat in Beijing, on March 3. Her
bag is said to be worth $2,500.
Qian Xiaodun/Imaginechina/AP
Delegate and Hong Kong cosmetics entrepreneur Cheng Ming Ming carries a
Louis Vuitton Alma handbag and wears a fur coat in Beijing, on March 3. Her
bag is said to be worth $2,500.
Wealth Concentrated In Few Hands
Rupert Hoogewerf, publisher of the Hurun list of the 1,000 richest Chinese,
says a recent report by his group showed that the top 70 NPC delegates are
probably richer than the entire U.S. Congress. This, he says, is "rather
ironic considering China is a developing country and the U.S. is the most
developed country in the world."
In fact, the wealthiest 70 delegates are worth $89 billion. According to
Bloomberg News, that's 11 times the net worth of the entire U.S. Congress,
plus the U.S. president, his Cabinet and justices of the Supreme Court.
"It's very much a chicken-and-egg scenario: is it because they're rich that
they become powerful? Or is that they're powerful that they become rich?"
asks Hoogewerf. "The general consensus is that it tends to be that they've
been successful individuals in their business world, and therefore they've
been co-opted into the top political advisory boards."
Hoogewerf's research found that 152 of the richest 1,000 Chinese held a seat
on one of these top advisory bodies, with their wealth amounting to 44
percent of the total wealth of everyone on the rich list. And the wealthier
the person, the more likely they are to hold political office.
All this adds to the criticism that the NPC has become a club for the
wealthy. It's criticism that Cao Zhaoyang, an NPC delegate and chairman of
the board at Aeolus, a company that makes car tires, denies.
"My company has 3,000 workers, and I have dealings with them every day, so I
need to know what they're thinking. I also need to know what the bosses
think, and what the state thinks," Cao says. "So we, as a class, have our
advantages. But it's an exaggeration to call it a rich man's club."
But others, even those who are wealthy, disagree.
"Most of those who attend the meetings are either wealthy or powerful,"
property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang wrote on his microblog. "They are defending
vested interests; the rest are toadies. There are only a few outspoken
deputies, who are there to perform a show for the media and public."
Delegates wear the traditional garb of their ethnic minority — the Burberry
bag at left (estimated cost: $800) notwithstanding — in Beijing on March 3.
Enlarge David Gray/Reuters /Landov
Delegates wear the traditional garb of their ethnic minority — the Burberry
bag at left (estimated cost: $800) notwithstanding — in Beijing on March 3.
Few Rich Representing The Vast Poor
How the changing composition of the bodies affects debate is clear; four
years ago, China's second-richest woman, Zhang Yin, who was then a deputy to
the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) advisory
body, proposed three "pro-rich" amendments to the law, including reducing
personal income tax for the super-rich.
There are questions whether wealthy deputies would vote against their own
interests, when it comes to issues like a property tax or a law forcing
officials to disclose their own assets.
However, overshadowing the NPC's wealth is its sister body, the CPPCC, which
has just finished its annual session. According to Hurun, it is even
wealthier than the NPC, with the richest 70 members owning assets averaging
$1.5 billion each. Their wealth has increased by 14 percent in the past year
, driven up by skyrocketing land prices and company stock offerings.
Huang Shaoliang is a real estate tycoon, the 797th richest person in China
and a CPPCC deputy. He believes that rich people could be good for the
advisory body.
"I don't think it's true that the body doesn't represent disadvantaged
groups. It's the opposite. It's more representative," he says. "We dare to
speak more and speak the truth."
But netizens don't agree, writing a satirical song that mocks the powerful
and wealthy delegates for "singing happy songs" and suggesting proposals
that don't go anywhere.
For all the power and wealth co-opted into China's congresses, it's a common
belief they're simply rubber stamps for government policy. As the song's
lyrics have it, the wealthy delegates "sing songs of praise and lie about
the future." | e**7
发帖数: 819 | | m*****5
发帖数: 23482 | 3 主要还是他们把这个当奥斯卡了
不过对于政客而言，穿LOGO的服饰确实显得很不专业 | l******t
发帖数: 12659 | 4 他们也不算是政客，就是开个party，走走过场
真正的政客们也是没有logo的
【在 m*****5 的大作中提到】
: 主要还是他们把这个当奥斯卡了
: 不过对于政客而言，穿LOGO的服饰确实显得很不专业
| m*****5
发帖数: 23482 | 5
说到底还是代表们脑子缺筋吧
虽然不是职业政客，但也要根据场合着装，政治场合穿LOGO显然缺筋
事实上，任何有品位和自信的人，都不应该穿LOGO，以及有文字标识的服饰
【在 l******t 的大作中提到】
: 他们也不算是政客，就是开个party，走走过场
: 真正的政客们也是没有logo的
| N*****m
发帖数: 42603 | 6 暴发户太多
【在 m*****5 的大作中提到】
:
: 说到底还是代表们脑子缺筋吧
: 虽然不是职业政客，但也要根据场合着装，政治场合穿LOGO显然缺筋
: 事实上，任何有品位和自信的人，都不应该穿LOGO，以及有文字标识的服饰
| m*****5
发帖数: 23482 | 7
不光是暴发户的问题吧，国人的审美真的很成问题的，很多人一个月就2000多，还要买
个COACH的布包，正店买不起，就买一个OUTLET丑到爆质量烂到爆的包，就是为了那么
个LOGO
【在 N*****m 的大作中提到】
: 暴发户太多
|
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