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No-shows waste of resources

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-05 07:49

Fame should not be a criterion for selecting top advisors to the CPPCC, says an article in China Youth Daily. The following is an excerpt:

Liu Xiang, who is still nursing injuries in the US, has applied to be absent from the second session of the 11th Chinese People's Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which kicked off on Tuesday. It is the second time he has asked for leave from this annual political activity after being elected to the CPPCC National Committee.

But his absence comes as no surprise to the public, for even if he had no injuries, he would still have used other excuses like training to get out of attending. It is already common for celebrity members to be absent from these political meetings. The only difference is that their absence no longer make the headlines.

Advisors to the government must have some necessary quality and ability. If they are elected just because of their fame in a certain field like sports or film, it is a waste of political resources. It's true that celebrity members may be busier than other members, but the question is why we still set aside a portion of political resources for them when we know they have no time to make the best use of them.

The public has long criticized the phenomenon of too many celebrities in our annual top political meetings. Since Liu Xiang can't fulfill his obligation as a member, why not drop him?

(China Daily 03/05/2009 page9)