It's not wrong to try to buy a house

The ownership of an apartment has become the main criterion to judge whether a person has been successful in life. But since the importance of owning a house is nothing new for Chinese people - it dates back to ancient times - we should not blame today's young people for trying desperately to buy an apartment, says an article on youth.cn. Excerpts:

Given the skyrocketing housing prices, some people feel today's youths are unnecessarily obsessed with buying a house, especially because they believe their demand is an important factor for increasing prices.

But today's young people have "inherited" the idea of owning a house from their forefathers. When even ancient and medieval poems describe the satisfaction of owning a house, it is little wonder that people think a house determines a person's success in life. So the obsession of today's youth cannot be regarded as misplaced; it is a normal requirement of people.

There is nothing wrong in a youth trying to buy a house before getting married. There is no shame in working hard to earn enough to realize the dream of owning a house. On the contrary, the efforts today's youths make to realize their dream show that they want to improve their life through hard work.

Young people should not be blamed for the rising housing prices in major Chinese cities. Instead, the government should increase the availability of housing units to meet the demand and reduce prices by building more affordable apartments and taking measures to ensure that those already built are sold at reasonable prices.

Stop waste of public funds

Some local governments are still holding extravagant business breakfast, which can cost up to 1,000 ($163.4) yuan per person, and/or exhibitions in the name of investment promotion in the country as well as overseas. But local governments should know that luxury events don't attract investments, and that they could be harming their image by wasting public money, says an article in People's Daily. Excerpts:

As the central government fights against the waste of public money, some local governments continue to hold unnecessarily costly events to attract investment both at home and abroad. This is nothing but an excuse for splurging on luxury.

The central government's austerity drive covers domestic and foreign affairs alike. But some local officials feel that potential investors will not be convinced of their strength and sincerity if they do not organize extravagant shows or hold expensive feasts in luxurious hotels. What they forget is that real strength comes from efficient administration, and entrepreneurs look for good opportunities, not superficial display of extravagance, to put their money in a project.

The aim of attracting investment from overseas is mainly to promote the image of a place and create a platform for cooperation. A simple promotional event could convince potential investors of officials' honesty and sincerity, and help attract a lot more investment than pompous and superficial shows.

Officials at investment promotions should make it clear that public money would not be wasted and management would be improved to ensure that investment projects succeed in their aims. Also, local governments at all levels should carefully calculate the costs of holding events at home and abroad, and try their best to save public funds.

(China Daily USA 09/03/2013 page12)