Wealth gap 2013's biggest worry

The increasing wealth gap has become the most prominent issue of concern of Chinese people in 2013, according to a report released Thursday, which showed that the highest average income levels are 20 times more than the lowest average incomes nationwide.

The blue book, Society of China Analysis and Forecast (2014), released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), pointed out that prior to 2011, the wealth gap did not register much with the Chinese public. In 2012, it leapt to third spot, behind concerns over medical costs and the cost of daily necessities. This year, it has become the most worrisome social issue out of the top 10, reported people.com.cn.

After the wealth gap, the public are most concerned about housing costs, the price of daily goods, anti-corruption and social stability.

Although the average annual household income at different levels all saw some 10 percent of growth in 2012, the annual income for high income families reached 43,797.5 yuan ($7,213.5) last year, while low income ones only earned 1,587.7 yuan, more than 20 times less.

Ding Yuanzhu, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, told the Global Times that public attention may be focused on the wealth gap, since November's Third Plenary Session pledged reforms. These included State-owned enterprises giving 30 percent of profits to be used to improve livelihoods, and taxation reforms.

"We can now expect the gap to narrow as more people enter the middle class due to the reforms announced, along with specific measures to achieve this reform," Ding said.

A different CASS survey, which was released on Wednesday, showed that only 60.4 percent of over 7,300 respondents believe that society is just and fair in general, while 69.2 percent believed so in 2008.

But the blue book stated that 70 percent of the respondents agreed that "children from different family backgrounds all have the chance to succeed," but the routes to success may not all be fair when "many businessmen make money with the help of government officials," according to 67.8 percent of the respondents, reported the China News Service.

Many believe that university graduates whose parents are civil servants or business managers are more likely to be employed in government positions than students from farmers' or workers' families.

Guan Xinping, an expert on social policy at Tianjin-based Nankai University, agreed that discontent rose when power and authority intervene in the income distribution system.

"We don't preach absolute equality, and most people would not feel it's unfair if a person's income is proportionate to their achievement without abusing power," Guan said.

Other issues analyzed in the blue book included urbanization and the aging society. It predicted that the influence of online opinion leaders will persist, amid a crackdown on online rumors since August, saying that one-third of these opinion leaders have worked for government agencies.