Work efficiency must be improved by establishing a long-lasting work mechanism. Serving the people cannot be like a gust of wind, in with a bang and out with a whimper; it cannot be formalistic.
-- Speech given by Xi Jinping while inspecting the Jiao Yulu People's Hotline in Lankao County, Henan Province, March 17, 2014
Serving the People Cannot Be Like a Gust of Wind
-- Real results and a long-lasting work mechanism are needed to serve the people
In modern Chinese, "a gust of wind" is often used to mean something that is a flash in the pan -- it comes and goes quickly and does not last for very long. Xi Jinping used the analogy of "a gust of wind" to show his hopes that the government does not serve the people like "a gust of wind," coming quickly and going quickly, but rather achieves real results on the foundation of a long-lasting work mechanism.
The entrances of many local government offices and organs of authorities are adorned with the phrase "Serve the People" in Mao Zedong's calligraphy. But in reality, serving the people is at risk of becoming an alien concept. For example, to bolster their images, some local government offices and organs of authorities create superficial so-called "serve the people" projects that are packaged up and put on display like miniature bonsai gardens. They look nice, but are completely useless, and do not help with the people's actual problems. In this way, serving the people has been distorted into government "imagery projects." Some leaders of local governments and organs of authorities also rack their brains to come up with so-called "serve the people" projects to show off their abilities and achievements to their higher-ups, and their hearts really are not with the people. They run around in circles to "score political points," and as this has gone on, serving the people has been distorted to become "political points projects" for officials. Some leaders also really like to "put on a show" -- they like to do things nice in appearance. To them, a false show of serving the people is the safest path, and as this has gone on, serving the people has devolved into another type of show business. The result of such distorted means of serving the people is nothing more than a gust of wind. At first, the leaders give much of their attention, everyone runs around in a great hubbub, the media swarms in, and leaders come out of the woodwork to start giving directions. Not long afterward, however, those who "serve the people" are not as enthusiastic anymore, serving the people becomes a mere gesture, organizations that serve the people turn cold, and formerly booming "serve the people" projects peter out and come to nothing.
There is immense harm in serving the people like a gust of wind. On the one hand, it is a great waste of social resources, including material, human, and administrative resources, and greatly increases the cost of public administration. On the other hand, and more importantly, it severely harms the image of and public trust in the Party and government, and lets down the people who placed hope in the Party and government. The negative psychological effect this has on society undermines genuine efforts to serve the people, making people question their authenticity and making it difficult to move such efforts forward, thereby making public administration all the more difficult.
It is not hard to do one good deed, but it is difficult to keep on doing good deeds. To prevent serving the people like a gust of wind and see real results in serving the people, we must work to establish long-lasting work mechanisms. First, we must establish a scientific evaluation mechanism to scientifically evaluate leaders' achievements and reveal opportunists for who they really are. Second, we must establish an accountability mechanism, step up punishments for authorities and leaders who serve the people like a gust of wind, and create an atmosphere of public administration that prevents such superficial actions. Third, we must scientifically create policies that serve the people, which means scientifically forming policy measures on the basis of widespread studies, thoroughly investigating what the people long for and need, following through on the results, and establishing rules and mechanisms that will last for the long-term.
The common saying goes: "Heaven sees what man does." When it comes to serving the people, the people are "Heaven." Especially in this day of instantaneous information and networks, the people are watching your every move at every moment! Mao Zedong once said: "We Communists are like seeds and the people are like the soil. Wherever we go, we must unite with the people, take root and blossom among them." Every Party member and official, especially leading officials, must never forget their purpose of wholeheartedly serving the people, and never forget Xi Jinping's warning that "Serving the people cannot be like a gust of wind, in with a bang and out with a whimper; it cannot be formalistic." They must work in the spirit of "leaving marks in stone and iron," take real, pragmatic actions to serve the people, continually do real, good deeds for the people, and continually pool positive forces for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
(An excerpt from XI JINPING: WIT AND VISION -- SELECTED QUOTATIONS AND COMMENTARY, published by FOREIGN LANGUAGES PRESS in 2015)
