Residents of Shaoyang City in Hunan Province recently received an unusual text message: anyone who says that Shaoyang is a good place get’s 300 RMB. While scam text messages are rampant throughout China, what stood out about this one was that it came directly from the office of the Shaoyang City Social Management Committee.

As one committee member explained, as long as you take part in a phone survey and show that you took the call on your phone log, you can go to the committee office to pick up the 300 RMB. However, the phone number must be that of the social management committee who conducted the survey.

Residents were skeptical upon receiving the text, with some claiming that the local government is trying to bribe its citizens. Others also noted that government workers would also participate in the survey and would almost certainly only say positive things.

When asked whether residents must say positive things in order to receive the payment, an official claimed that participants of the survey are free to say whatever they like and that the 300 RMB is intended as a subsidy to encourage people to finish the survey. In the past, only 6-7% of people actually completed the survey, it was alleged.

However, another government official was quoted as saying, “If people from Shaoyang don’t say good things about the city, how then can Shaoyang have any development prospects? We are encouraging people to say more good things as this will help the city’s economic development. But everyone has to play a part.”

Source: ifeng.com

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Keywords: Shaoyang City