An Iraqi girl, who had won a world beauty title after the U.S.-led invasion of the Middle East country in 2003, was acclaimed by Iraqis who said that she united the people by her victory. Perhaps this was the motive behind the “Miss Universe” promotion campaign launched by the Zheng’an local government, hoping for pride, unity and business opportunities for the people there. The county’s struggle for self-development and its search for opportunities should be hailed.

Shuai Ge (www.guizhoudoctor.com): Why bash the Zheng’an local government? They say that Zheng’an County made a mistake by using the Miss Universe pageant to promote itself. People point at the government’s lack of innovative ideas and channels to develop the local economy, and question the management capabilities of these local officials.

Zheng’an is a poverty-stricken county. It is poor because it has no competitive advantages, it is not given many development opportunities, and it is landlocked and has poor transportation infrastructure. Why can’t the local government increase fame and influence through a beauty contest? It is an innovative idea that deserves praise.

Why can’t Zheng’an people feel proud of Chen, a daughter of the county. If she could be the face of Zheng’an to help it attract investment, why shouldn’t locals vote for her?

Jiang Yifeng (Modern Express): Should poor places always wait for relief from the Central Government? Will any new form of promotion be criticized? The Zheng’an people were not forced to vote for Chen, and such a promotion campaign is allowed within the capacity of public administration. Additionally, this initiative is better than the ill-intended operations launched by some local governments who take bribes or sacrifice the environment and natural resources for an opportunity of quick development. Using a beauty contest for promotion is lawful and reasonable. Sanya, a coastal city in south China’s Hainan Province, is well-known for hosting the finals of the Miss World beauty competition in the past few years.

Ineffective promotion

Xi Xuchu (www.chinacourt.org): Shocking government decrees in some regions, which stipulate which wine to drink and what cigarettes to smoke and how to give outside investors special “favors” when they are getting involved in prostitution and other irregular behaviors, have been repeatedly exposed by the media.

Now, Zheng’an has come out with a circular calling for votes to help a Miss Universe candidate win through to the next round. The government, as guardian and representative of authority, is behaving like a sponsor of the beauty competition in this case.

The function and responsibility of the government are clear. Yet why do they continuously fail to perform their duties? And who is responsible for the damage caused to the government’s authority by such malpractices? It reminds us that we still need reform of the administration to regulate the use of power.

Qu Zhengzhou (Western Business News): The Miss Universe beauty competition is aimed at helping women by making their dreams come true in terms of career, life or individual development. Zheng’an County, which is short of more effective policy approaches to boost its local economy, tried to benefit from this but finally failed because its objective is totally unrelated to the platform available. More importantly, administrative power in the county was abused. Fans or civil organizations are free to canvass for votes for their idols or show contestants, but for government this is unacceptable. As we all know, the public authority guarantees legitimate public rights and other administrative affairs in the areas of economic adjustment, market regulation, social management and public service. It does not guarantee anything for a single person’s interests. A beauty competition cannot help Zheng’an improve its social development and will instead give the county a poor image.

Jin Maodao (Shanxi Evening News): Poverty is a challenge. But by exaggerating the importance of a beauty competition, the Zheng’an local government showed its ineffectiveness to govern. It needs more direct and appropriate methods to develop the local economy, rather than going to these extremes. More importantly, it reminds the public, officials in particular, to be alert to the predicament that the more underdeveloped a place is, the more ineffective its policy for economic development will be.