An academic has found himself at the centre of a storm after saying that the success of economic reform should be measured by the perks university professors enjoy.
Only when academics drive to work in their own cars from luxury villas can real progress be declared, according to Peking University professor Xiao Zhuoji. But the prominent economist's yardstick for reform success has raised hackles in the media.
Readers have bristled in letters columns over the remarks by Professor Xiao, which he made at the opening of an industrial park in Rizhao, Shandong province. He remains unapologetic.
'University professors with outstanding achievement should be rewarded,' he says. 'Reform means recognising the value of talent and human resources.'
Once vilified during the Cultural Revolution, China's intellectuals now live well, enjoying a high social status with a vested interest in staying the course of reform.
Quoting Deng Xiaoping's declaration, 'Let some members of society get rich first', Professor Xiao believes income disparity is inevitable in the reform process.
'One cannot deny that the reforms have lifted many people out of poverty,' he says. 'How to narrow the income gap is a separate issue.'