Battle for China's Past : Mao and the Cultural Revolution

central government was to collect value-added tax and consumption tax
whereas the local governments were to collect business tax, personal
and enterprise income tax.
As a result of this reform, local governments’ revenue fell, and to
cover their loss of revenue they taxed the rural residents. In 1993, for
instance, the financial income of the central government was 95 billion
RMB and in 1994 it increased to more than 290 billion. In contrast, the
financial income of the local governments over the same period fell from
339 billion RMB to 231 billion. Meanwhile, financial expenditure allocated
from the central government to rural China increased by only 44
billion RMB, from 131 billion to a mere 175 billion, whereas the financial
responsibilities of local rural governments increased from 332.2 billion
RMB to 403 billion. In other words, Premier Zhu wanted local governments
to pay more to the centre but at the same time take on responsibilities
for greater expenditure (Chen and Chun 2004). Amnesty
International, whose criticisms of countries like China usually focus on
political and civil rights, published a study condemning the Chinese
social and economic policies that push for development at the expense
of millions of rural migrants (see Watts 2007).
What was the extra income collected by the central government
used for? It was used for more urban development. One indication of
this is the high-speed magnetic railway from the city of Shanghai to its
airport. The rail track is so short that the train has to stop only a few
minutes after it reaches its full speed. It uses Germany technology so
expensive that even the Germans have not built a single railway of this
type. It was an expensive toy with a billion dollar price tag for the city
of Shanghai to boost its image of being modern and advanced.
Let us join the Western world
THE BATTLE FOR CHINA’ S PAST
The creation of an elite class is now considered a sign of modernity and
a way to catch up with the West. In almost every urban centre one can
encounter advertisements encouraging consumers to become a
member of the guizu (literally ‘expensive clan’, but often translated as
‘noble’ or ‘aristocratic’ in English). Thus you can see furniture advertised
as guizu furniture and a piece of sportswear as guizu xiuxian
(aristocratic leisure wear) and a real estate compound as guizu cun
(noble or aristocratic village). Another example of development for the
benefit of the elite is the fashion for building golf courses. China is well
known for its lack of arable land and water resources, yet there is fierce
competition to build golf courses. In 2006, the president of Xiamen
University, Zhu Congshi, announced that his university had
constructed a beautiful golf course to train students to become
members of the elite. Zhu declares that training an elite is an example
of educating the best for the public interest (Wuyou zhixiang 2006).
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