It would be an outstanding political action if local governments could solve the problem of housing for low-income residents, says a signed article in Qilu Evening News. An excerpt follows:

According to the Ministry of Construction, there are more than 70 cities at prefecture level or above across the country that have not adopted the system of providing houses to lower-income residents at a lower rent. In Fujian, Inner Mongolia, and a few other provinces and regions, less than 50 percent of cities have adopted the policy.

It is incumbent upon the government to set up a housing guarantee system, which is closely related with the fundamental interests of the low-income population.

Setting up a housing guarantee system is a means to include low-income groups into the redistribution of social wealth and to extend to them the fruits brought about by the country's economic growth.

This will be of great significance in keeping social stability, narrowing the gap between rich and poor and promoting social fairness.

To pursue more profits, developers tend to build high-grade and large houses.

This makes it necessary for the government to improve the housing guarantee system to ensure that low-income residents who are unable to buy houses at the market can have a living space.

Regrettably, preoccupied with the wrong idea that the high house prices are a reflection of rapid economic development, some local governments have held a passive attitude towards the building of a housing guarantee system.

In their eyes, the rise of house prices will bring about the increase of local gross domestic product, which demonstrates their political achievements.

Dominated by these concepts, the construction of low-price houses, which has been strongly advocated by the central government, has been viewed as a burden by some local governments.

At a national level, investment in the property industry has risen, while investment in low-price houses continues to fall.

To reverse this development, it is necessary to list the building of the public housing guarantee system as an important index to assess the performance of relevant government departments and officials.

(China Daily April 11, 2006)