We hear a lot about "serve the people" in the PRC. The official Mao-inspired slogan is not as popular now as it was years ago, but the official persona of Wen Jiabao symbolizes it: he is presented as an incorruptible man of the people; he serves the people. And, a while back, Hu Jintao gave us "eight honors and disgraces," which had a serve the people quality to it.
This is, of course, a Mencian idea. The great Confucian very much emphasizes the importance of the sovereign providing for and being attuned to the needs of the people, so much so, the sovereign's own interests should come last:
Mencius said: "The people are the most precious of all things. Next come the gods of soil and grain. The sovereign matters least." (261)
But we do not see all that much follow up in contemporary China. Too often the corrupt bureaucracy and the self-interested functionaries serve themselves and the people are left to catch as catch can.
It is nice, therefore, to see a story about people in positions of authority, albeit in this case simply the leadership of a provincial university, doing the right thing. Roland picked it up:
On September 3, the Huazhong Normal University commenced school. Out of 4,100 new students accepted this year, 2,200 receive free tuition, room and board because their families were disadvantaged. Some of the students were brought to the university campus by their parents. The university said, "We will not let a single new student quit on account of poverty, and we will not let a single parent sleep in the streets on account of poverty." The following photographs were taken at the indoor gymnasium at 11:30pm on the night of September 3. 350 parents slept on mats provided by the school in the air-conditioned building.
Yes, they are the most precious of all things. Mencius is smiling.
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