著名經濟學家吳敬璉教授日前又發表驚人宏論：中國目前還很貧窮，放假不宜太多。曾因替小股民說話而備受關注的著名經濟學家吳敬璉，因一連串“反對聲音”——反對春運票價不漲價、城市征地不應按市價補償、取消利息稅—— 成了爭議的靶子，有網站還推出“爭議吳敬璉”的專題。

Wu Jinglian, a famous economist and a political advisor, is surrounded by reporters at the ongong NPC and CPPCC session in Beijing March 4, 2007. [Xinhua]

With a vast majority of Chinese upholding more public holidays, Wu Jinglian, a famous economist and a political advisor, said that China is still a developing country and should not have too many holidays.

"As a member of the public, I also hope there are more holidays, but too many holidays are not good in light of the entire nation," Wu, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), made the remarks on the sidelines of the ongoing annual CPPCC session.

Wu said China has enough holidays at present and more researches should focus on whether more holidays areconduciveto raising consumption.

A number of political advisors have proposed that more traditional Chinese festivals, such as the Dragon Boat Festival and Tomb Sweeping Day, on which people pay respect to ancestors, should be made public holidays in a bid to raise people's awareness of traditions.

At present, China has three week-long holidays each year - the International Labor's Day holiday, the National Day holiday and the Spring Festival holiday. The last is the only holiday that ties in with China's traditional customs.

Many festivals, considered important days on China's lunar calendar, such as Lunar New Year's Eve and Mid-Autumn Day, are not public holidays, and relevant folk customs are not well observed, especially in cities, as people have to work.

A survey on Sina.com revealed that over 98 percent of netizens expected Lunar New Year's Eve to become an official public holiday.

（Xin Hua） 

Vocabulary:    

conducive: 對……有利

（英語點津陳蓓編輯）