 Yongjing County in Gansu province is a poverty stricken place relying on poverty relief from the central government. The local government has built up so called "culture walls" 2 kilometers long to keep the farmers' shabby houses out of sight. Local officials claim they are building a better life for these farmers, but others disagree.
Let's first follow WangJing see the media response.
Reporter: One article from the Beijing News quotes the local farmers calling it the wall of shame. It says it's still difficult to get water for many villagers behind the wall. There's not even enough money to build a canal to bring water to villages.
However, in order to win approval of officials from higher levels, the local government has created a false appearance, at the cost of farmers' welfare. The writer calls this an overt cheating.
The article points out the essence of a new countryside lies in the sustainable production, and a self-sufficient life free of worries.
One opinion from the website of Xinhua News indicates a wall has been mentally built up between the farmers and the government with the brick wall. Instead of helping the farmer to improve their lives, the local government has misused the money from the poverty relief fund.
It says similar things also happen in other places. The writer once saw villages in central China painting the walls facing high way beautifully, but everything remains the same behind the barrier. This shows some officials pay more attention to superficial stuff to please their supervisors than actually doing their work.
One article from the Chinese Business Paper further reveals the reason why the officials from higher levels haven't exposed the lies. It's very clear to build a new countryside requires long time hard work. The officials don't want to make the effort.
Besides, the officials understand it would be a clever idea to stand in the middle. If the lies were not disclosed, they would take the wall as their achievement as well. Otherwise, they could stand out to punish their subordinates.
The paper calls for more effective way to supervise officials, otherwise this kind of things will keep happening.
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