Fire victims deserve sympathy

Three retailers who ran to their shops to save their money after a wholesale agricultural market in Shanghai caught fire were caught in the flames and burned to death on Sunday. The tragedy has prompted some netizens to ridicule their desperate attempt to save their money. But the retailers' action should be seen sympathetically because they wanted to retrieve what could have been their life's savings, says an article on gmw.cn. Excerpts:

Many of the retailers in the market ran to save their lives while others rushed in to save their source of livelihood. Later, shop owners in other markets said they don't know what they would do in a similar situation. A trip to any market would reveal that their little savings are the only thing many retailers can count on to feed and improve the life of their families.

Most of the retailers in the burnt market are farmers from suburban areas. Since a few of them didn't even have regular income before saving money for years to rent a small stall, their desperation can be understood. They may haggle over every penny in business, but they spend generously on their children's education in the hope of providing them a better life.

Such people can neither avail of urban citizens' welfare nor hope for better comfort even if they return to the countryside. They can only hope to find a place to live in cities and improve their livelihood through sheer hard work.

Some netizens see the deaths as avoidable, but they fail to realize that the retailers' lives depended on the money, so they had to try to save it.

Income reform needed urgently

A property consultant in Jinan, Shandong province, who sold houses worth 695 million yuan ($111.69 million) and became the top real estate salesman, was given 5 million yuan as reward, which equals the amount for the State Science and Technology Top Award. This has drawn strong reactions from the public, says an article in Beijing Youth Daily. Excerpts:

There are many stories about huge amounts being paid to senior company employees as yearend bonus. But the after-tax bonus of 5 million yuan is still astonishing.

Given the income gap in today's society, the news about a property consultant getting an astronomical amount as bonus is likely to trigger heated public discussions on income distribution reform.

But we should not let the news agitate us. Irrespective of how fantastic the 5-million-yuan bonus appears and how much the public derides the real estate industry, the property consultant's income is legal according to social and real estate industry norms.

Wang Yawei, who received the huge bonus, has been rewarded for her hard work and excellent performance throughout the year.

What the bonus tells us is income distribution needs urgent reform. Hopefully, the income distribution reform plan will be implemented without any further delay to allow the fruits of economic development to be distributed more equitably among people working in different industries and regions of China.

(China Daily 01/11/2013 page9)