Wealth gap, unlimited power hinder China: poll

The widening gap between the rich and the poor has become a major concern among Chinese people, with an online survey conducted by China Youth Daily, showing that 75.4 percent of the 11,405 respondents believe income disparity will hinder the country's development over the next 10 years, the newspaper reported Tuesday.

Other worrying trends include unrestricted power of officials, the expansion of special interest groups, the worsening environment and violating the interests of the disadvantaged. More than 50 percent of respondents agreed they were concerned about these issues.

Web users from 31 provinces, municipalities and regions participated in the online poll.

"Income disparity is now the most prominent problem in society. The large income gap is viewed as a result of an unequal distribution system and corruption. The public worries the problem will worsen if authorities fail to crack down on corruption and don't come up with a better plan for income distribution," Wang Xiaolu, vice director with the National Economic Research Institute at the China Reform Foundation, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, employees in the financial industry in 2011 were top income earners with an annual average income of 90,000 yuan ($14,391), four times the earnings of workers in farming, forestry and fishing industries who made an average of 20,000 yuan in 2011. The People's Daily reported that the gap between the highest and lowest income groups has risen from 7.3 times in 1988 to 23 times in 2011.

Income distribution reform is highly anticipated by 66.6 percent of participants.