Policy digest: Sept 2

More support offered for flooding victims

China needs to keep up efforts to handle floods and typhoons this year, an Aug 26 State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang was told.

Serious floods have hit the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers this year, affecting a large area and inflicting great economic losses, it heard, but the government had responded in a scientific manner to keep casualty numbers low, a statement released after the meeting said.

The authorities should make sure people hit by the floods get resettled, that epidemics don't occur in disaster-hit areas and that students can start their new semesters as planned, the State Council said.

It called on local authorities to start post-disaster reconstruction promptly.

It also specified that the central government will increase subsidies for people whose houses have been damaged by floods in seriously hit provinces to 25,000 yuan ($3,640) per household.

The government should also support the restoration of farmland, greenhouses and pens for poultry and livestock that have been damaged by floods, guarantee the supply of crop seeds, and plant crops on damaged farmland promptly to ensure a good harvest in autumn, the State Council said.

It also called for timely reconstruction of damaged infrastructure, such as roads, bridges and medium-sized and small water facilities, construction of drainage systems in cities and the hiring of more migrant workers for such projects.

It was decided at the meeting that the central government will allocate another 16 billion yuan in subsidies this year and next to support the development of high-standard farmland, and areas hit by floods will be given priority in obtaining them.

It was also decided that the central government will allocate 10 billion yuan in subsidies this year for reconstruction work in disaster-hit provinces, and another 10 billion yuan from vehicle purchase taxes to support road construction in provinces that were seriously hit by floods.

Plan for capital's core area wins approval

The Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council have approved a detailed plan for the core area of Beijing for the period up to 2035 that stresses the capital's function of serving central administrative organs and the firm and orderly relocation of its noncapital roles.

"The core area is where Beijing's functions as the nation's political, cultural and international exchange center are mostly located, as well as a key area for preservation of historical sites," the authorities said in a statement issued on Thursday.

In the statement, the top leadership instructed city authorities to promote the organic integration of government and urban functions, while highlighting the core area's role in serving Beijing's function as the national political center.

The functional reorganization of the core area should be steadily advanced to create more space to support central government activities, the statement said.

It also emphasized firm and orderly steps in winding back noncapital functions in the core area, including gradually relocating some administrative agencies, along with education, research and medical services institutions, while reducing the area's population and building density.

The central authorities also demanded stronger protection of the city's cultural and historical heritage, improvement of people's livelihoods, enhancement of the public health system and the maintenance of security in the core area.

Xinhua contributed to this story.