When a senior executive of a corporate giant forgoes his multi-million-yuan annual salary, you can be sure it will set the cat amongst the pigeons.

According to Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd., that's exactly what its Chairman Ma Mingzhe has done. Ma said no to his 2008 salary, after a year in which the company posted massive losses largely due to its investment in Belgian financial service firm Fortis SA/NV. The company's stake in Fortis, which was originally worth 23.9 billion yuan ($3.42 billion), had devalued nearly 95 percent by the end of 2008.

In 2007, Ma earned 66.16 million yuan ($9.52 million), which translated to a daily income of 180, 000 yuan ($25,700). Criticized by the media for the high salary, Ma joins a group of senior executives in China and around the world who have agreed to cut or give up their salaries this year.

The "zero salary" decision was confirmed by Ping An. A company spokesman explained that given the unfavorable market situation, Ma decided to ride out the hard times together with the whole company.

Ping An has put into practice a merit pay system since 1994, which links corporate executives' compensation to the company's performance. In 2007, Ping An's net profit increased by 105.5 percent year on year. As profit rose, so did corporate executives' salaries.

Some people believe that Ma's decision to take no salary will help to save costs, strengthen Ping An's competitiveness and also send a signal to the staff that he is standing shoulder to shoulder with them. This is also an example for senior executives of other crisis-hit businesses.

However, many people challenge that the salary issue is about equality and fairness. People are unhappy about those exorbitant salaries because the recipients' contribution is not worth the large rewards. They also call for the imposition of a salary cap for corporate executives so as to narrow their income gap between them and average workers.

We should support it

Wang Pan (www.china.com.cn): Ping An's disastrous investment in the ailing financial group Fortis resulted in huge losses in 2008. In accordance with the company's salary regulations, Ma Mingzhe should cut half of his salary for 2008. Ma has, however, surprisingly given up his whole year's salary. Indeed, he is not going along with the company's regulations. However, this move should be encouraged as Ma is returning the part of the remuneration he is due. By no means should we criticize him for forgoing his own salary.

Ma's 2007 salary of 66.16 million yuan was given according to the company's remuneration system. There was no irregularity here. We should not be envious of the high salary. Neither should we criticize Ma's "zero salary" decision as a publicity stunt. We must be more tolerant. No matter for what reason Ma decided to give up his 2008 salary, we should respect his decision.

Li Wen (Securities Times): Ma's "zero salary" decision has shocked the public. Is he doing so to repair a battered image or is it because the salary is too low for him to be that interested in it?

Ma was criticized for his high salary in 2007. If he gave up his 2008 salary just to curry favor, he should have announced the decision when he was embattled by criticisms. He would then not need to bear that criticism for a whole of 2008.

Besides, it's impossible that his 2008 salary could be that low. According to the company's salary scale, the lowest payment he could receive for 2008 is 4 million yuan ($572,000).

Therefore, the most reasonable explanation for Ma's decision is that he made a cautious decision thanks to his sense of responsibility.

Xie Chunqiu (www.cnfol.com): After Ping An's stocks shrank sharply and the company suffered terribly from a disastrous overseas investment program, Ma felt sorry for shareholders and therefore decided to forgo his 2008 salary. Is he doing anything wrong? If Ma is condemned for the abstention, then how much should he get?

Pressed by the financial turbulence and in order to pacify the public, the authorities demanded senior executives of state-owned enterprises cut their salaries, but never asked them to forgo their entire payments. Ping An is not a state-owned insurer. Ma is doing what even state-owned enterprises' chiefs cannot manage.

Even if Ma is doing this to gain a good reputation for himself, his move has saved the company at least 4 million yuan in costs, benefiting all shareholders. We need to ask ourselves the question-has anyone been hurt by this move?

Zhao Dengyan (Beijing Youth Daily): In the current economic situation, Ma Mingzhe's move to forgo his 2008 salary is positive. It will encourage ordinary employees to work even harder to struggle through the hard times, while also sending a signal to other corporate executives, particularly those with state-owned enterprises, to also consider cutting back on their salaries.