The灰色 Income of Four Trillion Yuan: Where Does It Come From?

Corruption and Wealth Inequality Behind Four Trillion in Grey Income

"There is a large amount of hidden income among the high-income class in our country, causing national income distribution to increasingly tilt towards the high-income class. The per capita income gap between the top 10% and bottom 10% of urban households is currently around 31 times, not the 9 times shown by current statistics." The report has caused a huge social reaction, prompting an exclusive interview with its researcher, Wang Xiaolu.

The Release of a Research Report

"The Public's Greatest Grievance Lies in Corruption and Grey Income"

Reporter: Did you expect such a strong social reaction to your report?

Wang Xiaolu: I knew there would be some social reaction, but I didn't expect it to be so intense.

From online reactions, it seems that analytical comments are relatively scarce. Overall, it reflects public sentiment. People express all sorts of opinions, some quite extreme, and you can't expect them all to be objective. But why does this issue attract so much attention? Why do people have such strong emotions? This itself is something that requires serious attention.

In a sense, the widening of income disparities during the reform period is unavoidable. In the past, we practiced egalitarianism, and during normal market-oriented reforms, income disparities will naturally widen, which can cause dissatisfaction among some people, but this is within the normal range. For example, the rise in returns on human capital, the rapid increase in income for senior technical personnel, researchers, and senior managers, is normal. If not, how could China make technological progress? However, you can't explain such strong public emotions solely through psychological imbalance.

Reporter: The public holds a tolerant attitude towards normal income disparities. Even those with lower incomes believe that the return on human capital should be increased. For instance, rewarding Yuan Longping with five million yuan, farmers have no objections, and some even think rewarding him with ten million yuan would be justified.

Wang Xiaolu: Farmers' income is very low. We've conducted surveys in rural areas, and most of them believe that the income gap between mental and physical laborers, as well as the urban-rural gap, is basically normal. Most urban residents also understand the high returns earned by entrepreneurs through legitimate business operations. However, when it comes to corruption and using power for personal gain, no one agrees. So, upon reflection, most people understand the widening of income disparities brought about by normal marketization.

Reporter: What people are most dissatisfied with is non-normal income.