中文导读
《人民的名义》热播，引发全民追剧潮。万万没想到，热播大剧里面火的不是我们男主陆毅，而是他——达康书记。剧中的达康书记虽脾气急躁，但光明磊落、坦坦荡荡，一心装着人民！这样真性情的书记赢得大家好评也是毋庸置疑的！
China's pursuit of growth still gets very high ratings
RARELY has a Chinese city boss had more fans than Li Dakang, the earnest, driven Communist Party chief of Jingzhou. “I want development, I want speed and I want GDP,” he recently intoned. “But I want it to be modern GDP, GDP that comes without pollution.” Over the past month tens of millions have tuned in to watch him strive to fulfil these promises. On their smartphones, they share images of the heavy-eyed man with an easy smile, quoting his words and cheering him on. His policies have even been immortalised in a musical tribute, “The GDP Song”.
Li Dakang is not real, nor is Jingzhou. They exist only on “In the Name of the People”, a wildly popular 55-part television series about China’s battle against graft. Since its first broadcast in March, the show has attracted attention for its depiction of official corruption, unusual in the context of Chinese censorship. Less noted is the insight it has offered into a range of China’s economic problems—not just in its storyline but in the viewing public’s reaction.
The show touches on economic topics often too hot for the Chinese media to handle. Factory workers clash with police after a bankruptcy wipes out their company shares. A senior leader’s child amasses big stakes in local firms for his family. A small-business owner ends up in hock to loan sharks. Local bankers demand “consulting fees” when extending loans, pocketing the cash. (So realistic is this portrayal that the Chinese press reports that Guo Shuqing, the country’s most senior banking regulator, pointed to the show in a warning to banks at a recent meeting.)
The most consistent economic storyline is Li’s relentless pursuit of growth and the problems this narrow focus brings. He himself seems clean, but turns a blind eye to corruption around him. His insistence on moving quickly causes real harm. As a young official, a frenzied drive to build a country road leads to a village chief’s death. Later in his career, his hasty decision to bulldoze a factory sparks a protest in which more than 30 people are injured.
This sorry record seems grounds to object to Li. Instead, this flawed figure is by far the show’s most beloved, more so than the dedicated, upright officials who lead the party’s anti-graft battle. Online merchants, a good bellwether of trends, have started selling versions of the sleeveless jumper and tea Thermos that he favours. The internet memes doing the rounds—for instance, a pledge to “defend GDP” for Li’s sake—are partly in jest but do reveal support for public servants in his mould.
Why is Li Dakang so liked? In part because, warts and all, he is more believable than the saintly officials seeking to snuff out corruption. But there is more to it. Even when Li makes mistakes, his obsession with growth is very well received. Cautious, clean officials who err on the side of inaction are seen in a much less flattering light. In recent years China has started to emphasise policy goals other than GDP, from promoting culture to protecting the environment. Li Dakang-mania shows there are limits to this shift, and not just because of the government. Fast growth is still immensely popular.
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May 13th 2017 | Finance and economics | 547 words
