Getting to know the real concerns of residents and making policies accordingly has been considered essential for good government and honest and capable leaders since ancient China.

It is still so. But today, if anything, leaders also need to let the public know what they are doing about the problems that negatively affect residents' quality of life.

What Premier Wen Jiabao did on Sunday - communicating with Internet users online for more than two hours - sets a good example for leaders at all levels. Such a pro-active attitude to learning about the real problems facing residents makes a big difference to the quality of governance and the future of this country.

The online discussion touched on everything - the income gap, social security, migrant workers, a lower threshold for income tax and the fight against corruption. Internet users showed no constraints in raising questions and Premier Wen gave frank answers to all of them.

When asked about price hikes, Premier Wen said that he was watching closely everyday the price of daily necessities such as vegetables, pork, eggs and promised that his government would do whatever it could to prevent the prices from rising too high.

When asked about the hukou, the household registration system, Wen said that efforts would be made to help those rural workers who have long worked in cities with their problems, but he asked for understanding from migrant workers saying some big cities are under too heavy a population pressure.

All these show how familiar Wen is with a variety of situations and he considers and treats residents as equals.

In such a populous country as China, it is far too common for some people to always complain about this or that. Even the best policy can hardly make sure that all people benefit the same. Reforms are indeed needed to fix some problems, but such reforms must be gradual and should never cause social instability or interrupt the country's development.

What really matters today is whether government leaders at all levels, those at the grassroots in particular, can learn from Premier Wen Jiabao's example and communicate with ordinary residents, with a view to identifying specific problems that affect people's lives.

It is unrealistic and abnormal for State leaders such as President Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao to care about the specific concerns of residents, but grassroots leaders should. They should not just have chats with Internet users online, but also visit every corner of their community, town or city to learn about the real situation.

Their communication with residents and their implementation of central government policies in an efficient, effective and just manner make a big difference to people's well-being and therefore to the development of this country.

Hopefully, what Premier Wen did will make leaders of all levels aware that communication with residents is important.

(China Daily 02/28/2011 page8)