EDITORIAL : THE GLOBAL TIMES, CHINA

 

 

'Wealth drain' reveals sense of insecurity

 

Attracted by the exciting opportunities, increasing numbers of foreigners are flooding into China annually. Yet at the same time, more and more Chinese millionaires have managed or are considering to emigrate overseas.

The so-called wealth drain is receiving mixed reactions among the public. Some regard it as good for the Chinese economy in the long run. Others are indifferent. Many Web users have expressed strong resentment.

Nearly 60 percent of the 2,600 polled Chinese millionaires, whose assets surpass 100 million yuan each, are either considering or already finalizing emigration, according to a report published by the China Merchants Bank and consulting firm Bain & Company. In addition to a better education for their children, there are two major reasons for their flight: the safety of personal wealth and their retirement pensions.

When choosing to emigrate abroad, the wealthy not only remove funds and job opportunities, but also strike a heavy blow at popular confidence. Since the wealthy are seen as an elite, the "wealth drain" is regarded as a dual loss of both assets and talent.

By targeting the rich, an irrational populism among Chinese people not only threatens to derail economic development but also suggests the nation suffers from an unhealthy jealousy toward evaluating successful compatriots.

A certain kind of willful immaturity among the wealthy themselves measured against ordinary people's suspicions of the route to riches have only helped fan dangerous resentments.

There is of course no contradiction between seeking equality and allowing some people to be rich. Only if society welcomes another wave of economic growth can it foster a number of entrepreneurs with global competitiveness.

In China, both rich and poor alike lack feelings of security, which does no good to the stability of a society. On the one hand, the sympathy toward the poor may represent a public conscience. On the other, the popular resentment toward the rich is approaching seismic dimensions, threatening the stability and lasting development of the nation.

Chinese people, either rich or poor, should have confidence in their coutry's future development: No social turmoil, let alone revolutions, will take place. All kinds of social problems will be solved within the framework of the rule of law, which plays a paramount role in punishing lawbreakers as well as protecting the assets that people have legally created.

To curb this rampant flight of wealth, the entire society should reach a more mature, unwavering consensus to help dispel rich people's feelings of insecurity toward their wealth.