Chapter 40 Chapter 8: Breaking the Topic—6 Putting Hopes on Anhui

We learned from the interview that in 2001, one year after Anhui fully implemented the tax and fee reform, Premier Zhu went deep into Anhui three times.In mid-February, during the National Rural Tax and Fee Reform Pilot Work Conference, he surveyed the countryside around Hefei; on May 1, International Labor Day, many wealthy Chinese took advantage of the long holiday during the When traveling abroad, he spent time in the countryside of Anhui.During his two visits to Anhui, Premier Zhu kept his promise: no photos, no inscriptions, no accompanying meals, no greetings and escorts, everything was done lightly, and even no messages were allowed.For the two visits of the Prime Minister to Anhui, the Anhui Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government did not make deliberate preparations as before, nor did they choose "highlights" or even make false statements to show the Prime Minister. The places they arranged to visit were neither the best nor the worst. Therefore, it is universally representative.

On July 18 of this year, Premier Zhu set foot on the Jianghuai land for the third time. He led more than ten heads of relevant departments including the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Agriculture. Accompanied by Mr. Wang, he drove to Fuyang, the place where China's rural tax and fee reform started.At this time, the Fuyang area had been changed to Fuyang City. They came to Songyang Primary School in Shibalipu Township, Yingshang County, Fuyang City, which had a history of more than 30 years, and focused on the current situation of compulsory education after the pilot reform of taxes and fees.Looking at the dozens of dilapidated desks empty in the classroom, Premier Zhu was obviously a little surprised. He asked the principal Wang Wei:

"Why are there no stools?" Wang Wei explained: "In order to save money, the students bring the stools by themselves. Now that it is a holiday, the students take all the stools home." Those dilapidated desks are almost completely stripped of paint, and there are no drawers at all. In order to put books, many cages are simply woven with thread. "How old are these desks?" Premier Zhu asked thoughtfully. "Twenty years." "Hasn't it been changed in twenty years?" "No." Premier Zhu stretched out his hand subconsciously to touch the desk in front of him. At this moment, the reporter pressed the shutter of the camera.From the picture published by "Anhui Daily" later, in the simple classroom, there is no podium in sight, and the principal Wang Wei standing behind the thin and dilapidated desk is answering the Prime Minister's question; Wang Taihua is stroking the table with both hands Secretary, the heavy mood at that moment highlighted the picture; Chen Zhili, the Minister of Education who came out of the bustling Shanghai, showed anxiety in his concentrated eyes; The facial expression is obviously very complicated.

"What is the level of this school in the county?" Premier Zhu asked Wang Wei. Wang Wei replied: "Medium." Premier Zhu was silent for a long time, touched the mottled desktop and said with emotion: "It's very difficult!" That afternoon, Premier Zhu held a symposium on rural basic education in this Songyang Primary School.Listen to the opinions and suggestions of the nearby township cadres and primary and secondary school teachers on the spot on the compulsory education. Wang Taihua, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee who presided over the meeting, got straight to the point.He said: "The Prime Minister is very concerned about whether the reform of taxes and fees will affect compulsory education in rural areas. Please speak freely today. You must tell the truth, and you are not afraid of saying wrong things, but you must never tell lies."

Wang Taihua's opening remarks surprised the cadres and teachers present.Because in the past, whenever the city leaders came to inspect the work, the county, township and village would always greet each other early on, and they were only allowed to talk about the achievements, not the problems, let alone talking casually. Now that the Premier of the State Council has come, the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee wants everyone to speak freely. It is required to speak the truth, not afraid to speak the wrong words, and especially emphasizes not to tell lies. When I said these few words, many people felt hot, and some almost shed tears.

Li Jingye, Secretary of the Party Committee of Jiangkou Town, Yingshang County, took the lead.He said that he supported the reform of taxes and fees from the bottom of his heart, hoping to reduce the burden on farmers, improve the relationship between the party and the masses, and promote the further development of various undertakings in the countryside. However, after the reform, the normal operation of the town and village levels But there was a big problem, and I was looking for an opportunity to raise my opinion. Unexpectedly, the Prime Minister came down in person, and Secretary Taihua spoke so earnestly again, so he dispelled his worries and spoke frankly.

He said: "Our place is located in a remote place, and the economic development is relatively lagging behind. In the past, the salaries of financial support staff and teachers could not be paid on a monthly basis. The subsidy is 720,000 yuan." Premier Zhu listened carefully, and then asked Wang Wei, the principal of Songyang Primary School beside him: "Are the teachers in your school owed salaries?" Wang Wei said: "In 1998 and 1999, I owed two months' wages each. In 2000, I owed four months' wages. The first half of this year was all paid." "Have all the past eight months been reissued?"

"No, it's hung up." Premier Zhu looked at Wang Wei and asked again: "How much salary do teachers get every month?" "The highest is 600 yuan, and the lowest is 300 yuan." "Are there any other subsidies?" Wang Wei said truthfully: "No." A township cadre took Wang Wei's words and hurriedly explained to Premier Zhu: "Some teachers have contracted land at home, so they can still increase their income." After hearing this, Premier Zhu said in a stern tone: "You can't delay teachers' wages just because you have contracted land!"

The township cadre who interjected felt bored and looked disheartened. Then Luo Shi, Secretary of the Party Committee of Shibalipu Township, made a speech.He talked about four outstanding problems in rural primary and secondary schools: first, it is difficult to renovate dilapidated houses; second, there is a large gap in funds for school layout adjustment; Universal nine-year basic education) owes a lot. While listening, Prime Minister Zhu pondered, and suddenly asked Zhang Yongji, the principal of Xiaqiao Town Primary School who was sitting next to him: "How does the school charge students?"

Zhang Yongji said: "Students in grades one and two pay 140 yuan per semester; grades three, four, and five pay one hundred and sixty yuan." "What kind of money are you collecting?" Premier Zhu asked. Zhang Yongji said: "Taking the fifth grade of elementary school as an example, each semester, each student pays 50 yuan for miscellaneous expenses, 49 yuan for books, and 10 yuan for homework." "do you have anything else?" "I have to pay forty yuan to the town." "Why do you have to hand it over to the town?" Premier Zhu turned around and asked, "Is the mayor here?"

Hearing that the mayor of Xiaqiao Town did not come, Premier Zhu asked Jiangkou Town Party Secretary Li Jingye, "Does the school also pay you?" Li Jingye said, "It costs thirty-five yuan." "Why do you charge this money?" "It's mainly used to repay teachers' salaries." Premier Zhu turned around and asked Principal Wang Wei: "Does your school also pay the town?" Wang Wei said: "I don't pay, but part of the fee is to cover the teacher's salary for one month." "How about other schools?" Premier Zhu decided to ask the bottom line. Chen Naiping, principal of Liushipu Town Primary School, said: "We hand over some and keep some." Through face-to-face discussions with township cadres and primary and secondary school principals, Premier Zhu finally discovered that the fees charged by many primary and secondary schools in rural areas far exceed the standards for rural compulsory education fees stipulated by the State Council below.He pondered for a moment and said, "Thank you everyone for letting me know the real situation." Wu Duoshun, a teacher of Shibalipu Middle School, said at this time: "I graduated from the Teachers College in 1992, and now my monthly salary is only 465 yuan, which is half lower than that of the teachers in the county-level middle school and lower than that in the city. The number of elementary and middle school teachers is even lower." Tao Junzhi, director of the Yingshang County Education Commission, went on to say: "The quality of rural primary and secondary school teachers is not high, and the age is common. There is a shortage of teachers in some subjects. In the past 20 years, the county has not assigned a foreign language teacher with a bachelor's degree. " Premier Zhu has been listening carefully to everyone's speeches. At the end of this symposium, he said with emotion: "It seems that there are still many problems in rural grassroots education, especially compulsory education. Can farmers afford it? Whether the necessary investment such as reducing the burden on compulsory education can be guaranteed should become an important symbol for us to test whether the tax reform is successful. We need to study this issue further and find another way, but we must not make decisions on farmers. I hope that Anhui will explore new experiences in this regard.” When we parted, Premier Zhu had already boarded the car, and suddenly he poked his head out of the car window again, and said in a low but firm voice, "Thank you for telling us the truth, and enabling us to understand a lot of things we didn't know in the past. Know the actual situation. I'm sorry, everyone, for making you feel wronged.We must find a way when we go back. " The cadres and masses present were all moved. They applauded vigorously and watched the Prime Minister go away with tears in their eyes. After that, Premier Zhu went to Xindu Township, Lujiang County, Anhui Province, and had further talks with farmers; after returning to Hefei, he listened to the work report of the Anhui Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government. At the report meeting, he firstly gave full credit to the party committees and governments at all levels in Anhui Province for resolutely implementing the central principles and policies, the spirit of daring to be the first, advancing ahead of difficulties, and the gratifying achievements in the pilot reform of rural taxes and fees. affim.At the same time, he pointed out that the reform of rural taxes and fees is a profound social change, and it is carried out under the circumstances that the current market price of food continues to decline, there are not many channels for farmers to increase their income, and township finances are generally difficult, and we need to solve many difficult problems. question.The reform of rural taxes and fees is inseparable from the support of the state's finances, but to fully promote this reform, the state's financial capacity must be considered.Judging from the pilot reform of rural taxes and fees in Anhui and other places, it is not only during the reform process, but more importantly, it is necessary to consolidate the results of the reform in the future and effectively prevent the rebound of the burden on farmers. Changes in work style are closely related.If Anhui not only reduces the burden on farmers in the tax and fee reform, but also ensures the healthy development of compulsory education and other undertakings, and also cultivates the righteousness and style of the majority of cadres who are honest, honest and diligent in serving the people, this will bring a good result to the whole country. Head, also made a new contribution to the reform and development of our country!Premier Zhu finally said: The central government pins its hopes on Anhui.The central government has decided that this reform in rural areas must be piloted in the whole province of Anhui to achieve obvious results, and on the basis of summarizing mature experience, before it can be carried out nationwide. Da! In October of this year, the Basic Education Work Conference of Anhui Province was held in the provincial capital. The spirit of the National Basic Education Work Conference was conveyed at the meeting, which is: from now on, compulsory education will be implemented with "responsibility by level, management by level, and county-based" policy.It is clearly stipulated that the salary of teachers in rural primary and secondary schools shall be borne by the county-level finance instead of the township. In order to support Anhui Province to continue the pilot reform of rural taxes and fees, the central government provided Anhui with special transfer payment funds of 1.1 billion yuan in 2000; this increased to 1.7 billion yuan in 2002. Although this kind of payment is only a drop in the bucket for the huge financial gap exposed by Anhui Province, which is leading this reform in an all-round way, the "blood transfusion" reform is by no means the central government's implementation of this reform. original intention.The central government originally planned to control the total amount of local expenditures through the combination of rural taxes and fees, and the method of changing hidden fees to reveal taxes, in order to reduce the burden on farmers and force counties and townships, especially township-level governments, to streamline their institutions and personnel. However, just as agricultural As pointed out by expert Tao Ran, when the pilot reform of rural taxation and fees is comprehensively carried out, and when those who are being reformed play the role of executors of the reform, the disadvantages of the regulatory governance model will be fully exposed: the central government, local governments Farmers and farmers will not join hands to seek the maximization of the interests of the three parties, they will only pursue the maximization of their own interests, and the most vulnerable among them is naturally only the farmers! Today, when the financial and administrative powers of the central and local governments are seriously disconnected and have not been repaired, and county-level finances are still stretched, the huge rural compulsory education funds are transferred from townships to county finances. Can this solve the problem? The fact is that some local officials in Anhui privately revealed that some areas have begun to expand the scope of "one matter, one discussion" of village-level expenditures and loosen the standards; to fill the financial gap, and farmers will never have a say in the definition of public property, so that farmers plant trees in their own fields and have to "redeem" them back from the village; The phenomenon of publicly raising funds from farmers happened again... The original contradictions have not been resolved, and new problems have surfaced. If all this is explained as a matter of the quality and work style of rural cadres, this is obviously unfair to the vast majority of them.