When the government announced in September 1999 it would bring in three
week-long national holidays on May 1, October 1 and the lunar New Year's Day,
few anticipated the downsides that have cultivated a fear of them for many of
us.
We want longer holidays. Our diligent workers need extra leisure
time to refresh. Our economy needs a boost from domestic consumers' growing
spending power.
So does the government. Its generous offer of prolonged
vacations was first and foremost to lure the otherwise busy salary-earners out
of their offices and homes to spend.
Statistics after each of the past
"golden weeks" showed that end was served quite well.
But it does not
seem a good idea to make a nation of 1.3 billion hit the road in the very same
seven days three times a year.
Crowding alone has rendered many
holidaymakers' otherwise enjoyable sightseeing or shopping trips joyless, to say
the very least. Almost all complaints during such holidays in recent years had
to do with crowding.
The seven-year itch now pestering the so-called
"golden week" scheme tells us it is time we reflected, seriously, on its pros
and cons.
In the abundance of arguments for or against the national
holiday scheme, few are as impressive as the latest from the China National
Democratic Construction Association.
Special research under the auspices
of the association suggested the May and October "golden weeks" be scrapped and
the extra time split and designated to four traditional festivals on the Chinese
calendar Tomb Sweeping Day, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival
and the Spring Festival.
One of the most constructive functions of this
scheme is that it answers calls to give national holiday status to traditional
festivals. It is in line with the awakening awareness of the nation's cultural
identity. Perhaps most important of all to our cost-conscious decision-makers,
it will meet that need without adding to the total length of national
holidays.
This appears to be an option involving one stone and two
birds.
But there is also a point that makes it vulnerable to the
opposition of those in favour of longer holidays.
It challenges
decision-makers to weigh up this scheme against the proposal to allow every
citizen two weeks of paid holiday at whatever time the individual
chooses.
The national tourism authorities, the biggest beneficiary of the
"golden weeks," have pledged to rethink the design amid loud public
outcry.
They should take such thought-provoking ideas into account while
making their own judgement. To come up with a sensible solution, they should
study and try to incorporate the constructive elements of all such proposals.
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