Society

One of the most telling things about China's health care is a quote I once read from a construction worker who earns about $150 a month: "If you get cancer in China, don't bother going to the hospital. They might not cure you, but you will go broke."

That pretty much sums up the current state of health care for millions of people in this country.

Earlier this year, I met Zhou Yujin and his wife Jin Qinglian. Zhou does not have cancer, but his kidneys are failing and he is broke.

"To (get) great treatment we need money. I don't have money to stay in the hospital. I don't have money so I get treated at home."

The credibility of the Chinese government has reached a new low: according to a new poll, Chinese people trust prostitutes more than they trust politicians.

According to an internet survey jointly conducted by state-owned monthly magazine Xiaokang and China’s largest portal, sina.com, Chinese netizens say that farmers, religious workers, sex workers, soldiers and students are the five most trustworthy groups among 49 different categories they were asked about. And 91.1% of those polled either have doubts, or disbelieve the government’s economic data.

Traditional, well-respected social elites such as teachers, scientists and various government functionaries were ranked much lower than might be expectated.

The annual survey, which aims to measure the overall credibility of Chinese society, was conducted online from June to July and successfully interviewed 3,376 netizens.

The sex workers are surprisingly prominent on this list of honor, which was released in Xiaokong’s August issue. A China Daily editorial said Tuesday, "A list like this is at the same time surprising and embarrassing.” The sex business is illegal in China, but ubiquitious.

China Daily further criticized the less trusted government officials and social elites, “Yet given the constant feed of scandals involving the country's elite, this is not bad at all. At least they have not slid into the least credible category,” the editorial said. The five most unreliable groups, chosen by online readers, are property developers, secretaries, agents, show business stars and directors.

Xiaokang’s credibility survey also showed that Chinese people’s confidence in the government declined drastically over the past three years. Based on the findings, 91.1% of the respondents said they took all sorts of government statistics as reference, and some of them thought the data was partially faked, while some said they never believe government figures. The reading surged sharply from 79.3%, showing the government has a drastic, and worsening, credibility problem.

Xiaokang Magazine summarized the problem as a result of protectionism, conflict of interest, and lack of accountability among local government officials. China Daily also said the finding reflected a "quite severe" drain of government credibility, which is obvious in recent "mass incidents" in which distrust of local authorities turned out to be a powerful amplifier of public indignation.

China Daily said that local government officials are supposed to take care of the citizens' day-to-day concerns politically. “But since local cadres report only to their superiors, and their appointment, promotion and removal has little, or nothing, to do with the community they are supposed to serve, it is only natural that they are preoccupied overwhelmingly with pleasing their bosses,” China Daily said.

The newspaper called on the government to take action to restore its credibility for the sake of social stability.

Same report from BBC.com.uk "Trusts prostitutes more" shows the trust crisis in China

China's job outlook remains "very grave" and could deteriorate further, a senior official has said.

The government is under "enormous pressure" to create jobs, said Wang Yadong at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Last month, the Chinese authorities predicted 8% growth for 2009, thanks to a four trillion yuan ($585bn; £390bn) economic stimulus plan.

But the global downturn has still put millions of Chinese out of work.

'Challenging' crisis

Mr Wang said 3% of the country's 66.5 million migrant workers had failed to secure work when they returned to the big cities from their villages after the Chinese New Year.

He added that one-third of last year's university graduates, three million former students, had not yet found employment.

"What's more challenging is that the global financial crisis has not bottomed out yet, and there are still a lot of companies that are in difficulties," said Mr Wang, who is a deputy director at the ministry.

China's economy grew at an annual rate of 7.9% between April and June, up from 6.1% in the first quarter, thanks to the government's big stimulus package.

However, correspondents say unemployment remains a sensitive subject for Beijing and no overall figures are available.

China's prostitutes are better-trusted than its politicians and scientists, according to an online survey published by Insight China magazine.

The survey found that 7.9% of respondents considered sex workers to be trustworthy, placing them third behind farmers and religious workers.

"A list like this is at the same time surprising and embarrassing," said an editorial in the state-run China Daily.

Politicians were far down the list, closer to scientists and teachers.

Insight China polled 3,376 Chinese citizens in June and July this year.

"The sex workers' unexpected prominence on this list of honour... is indeed unusual," said the China Daily editorial.

"At least [the scientists and officials] have not slid into the least credible category which consists of real estate developers, secretaries, agents, entertainers and directors," the editorial said.

Soldiers came in fourth place.

Read more from Forbes.com on this topic China's Questionable Cadres