Anger Over Call ‘to Show Patriotism’ by Buying a House
Raymond Li 20 December 2008
A high-profile Beijing professor is under fire for calling on the public to show its patriotism by putting its money into the housing market.
Zhao Xiao, an outspoken economics professor at the University of Science and Technology Beijing, urged people to better understand the woes of the mainland housing market.
“If the property market screws up, the [broader economic] problems will become worse,” the Xiaoxiang Morning Post reported him as saying at a business forum last weekend in Beijing. “It’s a show of patriotism to buy a house now.”
Professor Zhao did not respond to a request for an interview.
Yu Linggang, an activist pushing for affordable Beijing housing, said people such as the professor had been bought by vested interests.
The housing market has been one of two growth engines for the mainland economy for more than a decade, and combined with other infrastructural investment, the sector contributed to more than a third of the growth in last year’s 11.4 per cent gross domestic product.
But the once red-hot property market had slumped dramatically since the second half of last year as speculation pushed up prices to levels beyond the reach of most wage earners in many cities, leading to much discontent.
An increasingly gloomy outlook prompted authorities to unleash a raft of initiatives ranging from easier access to bank loans to tax breaks for prospective homebuyers in an attempt to shore up the industry.
However, the public is sharply divided over whether the government should come to the rescue of the sector without addressing rising property prices.
Professor Zhao said that neither growth engine - trade or real estate - should stop, given the grim prospects for the Chinese economy. “The reality is, the national economy roughly equates the property market, which is almost equivalent to public welfare,” he was quoted as saying.
His comments drew swift anger, with one internet commentator labelling the remarks as “nonsense” on the Chinanews.com.cn bulletin board.
Another web surfer was saddened by the fact that the comments had come from a professor.
Mr. Yu said the public had good reason to turn its back on the housing market. The stagnation in the sector was the result of an unsustainable business model that condoned profiteering from land sales. If prices came down, the public would buy.
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Anger Over Call ‘to Show Patriotism’ by Buying a House
Raymond Li
20 December 2008
A high-profile Beijing professor is under fire for calling on the public to show its patriotism by putting its money into the housing market.
Zhao Xiao, an outspoken economics professor at the University of Science and Technology Beijing, urged people to better understand the woes of the mainland housing market.
“If the property market screws up, the [broader economic] problems will become worse,” the Xiaoxiang Morning Post reported him as saying at a business forum last weekend in Beijing. “It’s a show of patriotism to buy a house now.”
Professor Zhao did not respond to a request for an interview.
Yu Linggang, an activist pushing for affordable Beijing housing, said people such as the professor had been bought by vested interests.
The housing market has been one of two growth engines for the mainland economy for more than a decade, and combined with other infrastructural investment, the sector contributed to more than a third of the growth in last year’s 11.4 per cent gross domestic product.
But the once red-hot property market had slumped dramatically since the second half of last year as speculation pushed up prices to levels beyond the reach of most wage earners in many cities, leading to much discontent.
An increasingly gloomy outlook prompted authorities to unleash a raft of initiatives ranging from easier access to bank loans to tax breaks for prospective homebuyers in an attempt to shore up the industry.
However, the public is sharply divided over whether the government should come to the rescue of the sector without addressing rising property prices.
Professor Zhao said that neither growth engine - trade or real estate - should stop, given the grim prospects for the Chinese economy. “The reality is, the national economy roughly equates the property market, which is almost equivalent to public welfare,” he was quoted as saying.
His comments drew swift anger, with one internet commentator labelling the remarks as “nonsense” on the Chinanews.com.cn bulletin board.
Another web surfer was saddened by the fact that the comments had come from a professor.
Mr. Yu said the public had good reason to turn its back on the housing market. The stagnation in the sector was the result of an unsustainable business model that condoned profiteering from land sales. If prices came down, the public would buy.
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