In the past, Chengwu County was one of the top ten poorest counties in Shandong Province. According to official statistics, the average pension for retirees in government agencies and institutions in Chengwu County was nearly 43 times that of ordinary residents, sparking public concern.
On September 18, according to reports from Netease, Gelunhui, and other mainland media outlets, Chengwu County in Heze City, Shandong Province recently released a “Statistical Bulletin on National Economic and Social Development in 2023.” The bulletin revealed that in 2023, government agencies and institutions in Chengwu County had 8,778 retirees, receiving retirement benefits totaling 785 million yuan; 13,220 retirees from enterprise units received 369 million yuan in retirement benefits; and 119,400 urban and rural residents received 251 million yuan in old-age insurance benefits.
The data disclosed in the bulletin showed that in 2023, the average annual retirement pension for retirees in government agencies and institutions in Chengwu County was 89,428 yuan, while for enterprise retirees it was 27,912 yuan, and for urban and rural residents it was only 2,102 yuan. The average retirement pension for retirees in government agencies and institutions was more than three times that of enterprise units and nearly 43 times that of ordinary residents. Additionally, in 2023, a total of 1.405 billion yuan in retirement pensions was paid out in the county, with as much as 56% going to only 6% of retirees from the system.
Furthermore, the bulletin data indicated that Chengwu County’s government finances were “unable to balance,” with a fiscal deficit of 3.4 billion yuan last year. The “Financial, Banking, and Insurance” section of the statistical bulletin mentioned that in 2023, the county’s total public fiscal revenue was around 1.7 billion yuan, with tax revenue accounting for 69.1% of the total, while public fiscal expenditure in the county was around 5.1 billion yuan.
Just last month, Chengwu County in Shandong Province was embroiled in a scandal involving the government’s use of so-called anti-pyramid scheme measures to raise funds. According to reports from Shangyou News and Frontline News, on July 29 of this year, the Market Supervision Administration of Chengwu County fined three companies a total of 5.4 million yuan.
According to complaint materials from the companies involved, enforcement officer Zhang reportedly said, “To put it bluntly, I don’t have the ability to support a business, but it’s too easy to bring down one. Catch a small issue, blow it out of proportion, and that business will be done for.” The same enforcement officer also mentioned, “(This year) 50 million (yuan) in achievements have reached 21 million, still 29 million short.”
Reportedly, since 2020, the Market Supervision Administration of Chengwu County has frozen deposits totaling 781 million yuan under the names of several out-of-town companies on grounds of suspected pyramid schemes, effectively creating an “anti-pyramid scheme economy” in Chengwu County.