Wu Jinglian, a famous economist and a political advisor, is
surrounded by reporters at the ongong NPC and CPPCC session in Beijing
March 4, 2007. [Xinhua] |
With a vast majority of
Chinese upholding more public holidays, Wu Jinglian, a famous economist and a
political advisor, said that China is still a developing country and should not
have too many holidays.
"As a member of the public, I also hope there are more holidays, but too many
holidays are not good in light of the entire nation," Wu, member of the National
Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC),
made the remarks on the sidelines of the ongoing annual CPPCC session.
Wu said China has enough holidays at present and more researches should focus
on whether more holidays are conducive to raising consumption.
A number of political advisors have proposed that more traditional Chinese
festivals, such as the Dragon Boat Festival and Tomb Sweeping Day, on which
people pay respect to ancestors, should be made public holidays in a bid to
raise people's awareness of traditions.
At present, China has three week-long holidays each year - the International
Labor's Day holiday, the National Day holiday and the Spring Festival holiday.
The last is the only holiday that ties in with China's traditional customs.
Many festivals, considered important days on China's lunar calendar, such as
Lunar New Year's Eve and Mid-Autumn Day, are not public holidays, and relevant
folk customs are not well observed, especially in cities, as people have to
work.
A survey on Sina.com revealed that over 98 percent of netizens expected Lunar
New Year's Eve to become an official public holiday.
