Lin Min

    WHEN Shenzhen Party chief Wang Rong early this year blamed corruption for the surging price of Moutai — the top brand of Chinese liquor — his remarks struck a chord among ordinary people who were losing patience with stubborn inflation and corruption.

    Moutai again became a hot topic during this month’s annual sessions of China’s top legislature and advisory body, after a Moutai executive tried to defend the consumption of the pricey liquor at official dinners.

    When asked about a proposal to ban the booze in government-funded dining sessions, Liu Zili, general manager of Kweichow Moutai Distillery Co., said: “If Moutai were banned, I do not know what drink could be served at government receptions. Should it be Lafite (Chateau Lafite Rothschild, a luxury French wine) instead?”

    Liu’s response touched a nerve with many people who have long been angered by the rampant misuse of taxpayer money at official receptions, overseas tours and private use of government cars.

    Popular at government receptions, Moutai, whose price surged by about 1,000 percent from 2003 to 2011, has become emblematic of the misuse of public funds and corruption.

    Recently, while microbloggers were raging about officials’ wasteful spending on booze, a new campaign was launched to learn from Comrade Lei Feng, an icon of altruism who died 50 years ago. The campaign was apparently aimed at helping fill the moral vacuum in a country whose economic boom has been tainted by greed and corruption.

    While achieving a GDP miracle in the past three decades, China has also seen the rise of materialism and money worship, as well as a widespread desire to strike it rich by hook or by crook. The collusion between the powerful and the rich, the widening income divide, prevalent injustice and social inequality have all resulted in the loss of faith and a decline in morality.

    In asking people to learn from Lei, we need to understand that the altruism icon lived in a society totally different from today’s. We need to ask ourselves whether ordinary people would be ready to answer the call to give and help like Lei while the so-called social elites gobble down Moutai or Lafite using public funds or money made from dirty deals?

    It came as no surprise that screenwriter Wang Xingdong was lauded when he told the country’s top advisory body that government officials should take the lead in learning from Lei’s spirit to ease public concerns that while promoting the virtue of selflessness, some officials stay greedy and selfish.

    However, the question is, will the country’s powerful and wealthy be willing to practice Lei’s spirit and live as humbly as him? Although propaganda officials have tried to give the hero a human touch — revealing him as a young man who liked dancing, fashion, photography and poetry — his apparent lack of independent thinking reminds people that he was a man of his time, not ours. Will China’s elite class aspire to be a tiny “revolutionary screw” — the proclaimed ideal of Lei?

    Writing for the Party magazine Seeking Truth on Friday, Vice President Xi Jinping said: “Today some people join the Party not because they believe in Marxism and want to devote themselves to Socialism with Chinese characteristics ... but because becoming a member brings them personal benefits.” In the article, he criticized some Party members for their “lack of principles and corrupt behavior which is not conducive to the purity of the Party.” News reports about officials pocketing tens of millions of yuan in ill-gotten gains and keeping numerous mistresses are so common that they no longer surprise the public.    

    Corruption, income disparity and lack of credibility were also mentioned by Premier Wen Jiabao as challenges the country faces when he met the press Wednesday.

    The premier pointed out that solving these problems requires both political and economic reforms. He was frank and to the point.

    In fact, corruption and the wealth divide are root causes of the moral vacuum that is now plaguing society, while the lack of credibility is a byproduct of moral decline. Without further reforms, we will continue to see the privileged class snatch up resources and opportunities to the despair of the public — and the moral woes will deteriorate.

    Although Lei remains a Mao-era model that deserves respect for his altruism, we are unlikely to find a true moral compass unless China takes serious reforms to root out the many ills that poison society’s soul and moral integrity.

    (The author is editor of the Shenzhen Daily News Desk.)