I. People's Rights to Subsistence and Development
In 2004, China's economy developed steadily and relatively rapidly, and
people's rights to subsistence and development were improved considerably.
China's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 13,650 billion yuan, an increase of
9.5 percent over the previous year. Total grain output in 2004 reached 469.5
billion kg, an increase of 9 percent over the previous year.
The people's overall living standard and quality of life were improved
considerably, and the consumption pattern of the society continued its shift
from one of basic living to one of modern living. In 2004, the per-capita net
income for rural residents was 2,936 yuan, an increase of 6.8 percent in real
terms and the biggest increase since 1997. The per-capita disposable income of
urban residents was 9,422 yuan, an increase of 7.7 percent in real terms. Retail
sales of consumer goods totaled 5,400 billion yuan, an increase of 13.3 percent.
The Engel coefficient (i.e., the proportion of food expenditure in the total
consumption spending) per rural and urban household was 47.2 and 37.7 percent,
respectively. The number of private cars kept increasing, reaching 6 million at
the year's end, making China a market with the quickest increase in the number
of private cars in the world. Over the past four years, China has witnessed an
addition of 90 million telephone users annually, and in 2004 some 14.5 million
new Internet users were recorded in China. At present, there are more than 650
million telephone users and over 94 million Internet users in China.
The state adopts effective measures to increase input into agriculture and
spares no pains to increase farmers' incomes and improve their lives. In
February 2004, the Central Committee of the CPC and the State Council jointly
promulgated document No. 1, known as "Opinions on Several Policies to Promote
Increase of Farmers' Incomes," which explicitly stated that China must adhere to
the strategy of comprehensive development of urban and rural areas and the
principle of "giving more, taking less, and being flexible," and that it is a
basic task to realize, safeguard and develop farmers' material interests and
protect their rights and interests. Within a year, the state formulated a series
of policies that were well endorsed by the farmers, directly contributing to the
increase of their incomes. At the beginning of 2005, the Central Committee of
the CPC and the State Council again promulgated, in the form of document No. 1,
"Opinions on Several Policies on Further Strengthening Agricultural Work and
Enhancing the Comprehensive Agricultural Productive Capability," deciding to
further intensify efforts in implementing the policies of cancellation of
special agricultural product tax, reduction or exemption of agricultural tax,
providing direct subsidies to grain growing farmers, for quality seeds for four
grain crops, and for those who buy large or medium-sized agricultural vehicles
or equipment (abbreviated as "two reductions and exemptions" and "three
subsidies") so as to further guarantee the rights and interests of the farmers.
The state greatly increased its input into agriculture, rural construction and
other undertakings that would help increase farmers' incomes. In 2004, the
central government appropriated funds worth 262.6 billion yuan for these
purposes, an increase of 22.5 percent over the previous year. Statistics show
that 11.6 billion yuan was used as direct subsidies for grain growing farmers in
major grain-producing areas; 2.8 billion yuan was used as subsidies for quality
rice, corn, soybean and wheat seeds; 500 million yuan was allocated as special
subsidies to appropriately assist farmers who bought large agricultural vehicles
or equipment. Meanwhile, greater efforts were made to reduce or exempt
agricultural taxes. In 2004, the amount of agricultural taxes that were reduced
or exempted came to 23.3 billion yuan, and 6.8 billion yuan in special
agricultural product tax was cancelled. The farmers were relieved of tax
burdens, which totaled 30.1 billion yuan. Throughout the country, 150 million
farmers no longer pay agricultural tax, the rate of agricultural tax for 540
million farmers was reduced by three percentage points, and the agricultural tax
rate was reduced by one percentage point for the rest of the farmers.
The housing
conditions and living environment for urban and rural residents have been
improved considerably. China actively promotes the development of an urban
housing security system, which comprises the system of publicly accumulated
housing funds, system of affordable and functional housing, and the system of
low-rent housing. By the end of 2004, the low-rent housing system for
minimum-income families was established in 35 large and medium-sized cities. By
the end of 2003, the per-capita living space in cities and towns reached 23.7 sq
m, and it was 27.2 sq m in rural areas. Families and communities began to
realize the importance of environmental protection, and the people's living
environment was further improved.
The Chinese government continues to take effective measures to help the rural
poor shake off poverty. In 2004, the central government earmarked 12.2 billion
yuan as funds to aid the poor. By adopting effective measures such as improving
production and living conditions in the poor areas, and enhancing the
comprehensive quality of poor rural farmers, the government has greatly reduced
the number of poor farmers without adequate food and clothing throughout the
country. The population of poor farmers in the countryside was 2.9 million fewer
than in the previous year. The International Aid-the-Poor Conference convened in
Shanghai in May 2004 spoke highly of the achievements China had made in helping
the poor, declaring, "The achievements China has made in helping the poor is a
good example. It has proved that it is not an unreachable goal for mankind to
eliminate poverty. The example of China will reverse the pessimistic sentiment
surrounding the argument on poverty elimination."
The Chinese government considers the safety of life of the people above
everything else. In recent years, the state has taken a series of measures to
enhance production safety and check the occurrence of all sorts of accidents. In
2004, the state promulgated one administrative law, 15 departmental regulations,
five industrial standards on production safety and more than 70 regulatory
documents to tackle the problem of industrial hazards. Small coal mines and
other industrial enterprises which did not meet the requirements for production
safety were resolutely shut down. The total number of accidents of the whole
year somewhat decreased. The number of accidents and deaths throughout the
country were reduced by 16.22 and 0.23 percent, respectively, compared with the
previous year. The state made great efforts to guarantee safety in coal mines,
including preventing gas explosions. It strengthened the establishment of safety
production systems and mechanisms and exerted concentrated efforts to tackle
gas-related accidents in coal mines. As a result, the number of gas-related
accidents in coal mines dropped by 15.6 percent, and that of deaths by 7.8
percent.
The state attaches great importance to combating natural disasters and
carrying out related relief work, making sure that people hit by natural
disasters are able to subsist. In 2004, natural disasters caused great damage
throughout China. Serious flooding occurred in some medium and small river
basins, coastal areas in Zhejiang Province were devastated by the strongest
typhoon since 1956, and in some regions mountain torrents, mud-rock flows and
landslides happened frequently. Because the government had improved its
early-warning systems, exercised scientific command and effective
administration, people in the disaster-stricken areas were evacuated and
resettled promptly, and the injured received timely treatment. The Ministry of
Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Finance jointly appropriated 4 billion yuan in
relief funds, plus 4.89 million yuan in donated funds, and dispatched 31,000
tents to the disaster-stricken areas. The government helped evacuate and
resettle 6.11 million disaster victims, and rebuilt more than 1.4 million houses
that had been destroyed in the disasters. During the spring and winter of 2004,
when crops were not harvested, some 90 million people received relief aid, and
their fundamental needs for food, clothing, lodging, water and medical treatment
were met.
The state continues to provide special aid to
minimum-income urban families whose members either suffer from critical illness
or are seriously handicapped and without any financial income. To carry out the
"Measures for Assisting and Managing Urban Vagrants and Beggars with No Means of
Livelihood," in 2004 a total of 550,000 vagrants and beggars received
much-needed assistance from the government. Now there are 909 assistance and
management centers across the country and 130 assistance and protection centers
for vagrant children. A system of guaranteeing the minimum standard of living
for rural residents has been established in 1,206 counties (cities), with
4,960,000 beneficiaries.
China attaches great importance to the health conditions of the people. The
national public medical care network has been strengthened further. In 2004,
China had 296,000 health care institutions, 3,047,000 hospital and clinic beds,
4,390,000 medical personnel, and 3,586 disease prevention and control centers
(including anti-epidemic stations) with 160,000 medical personnel. Moreover,
there were 1,279 health care supervision and examination institutions with
26,000 medical personnel, and 42,000 township clinics with 669,000 beds and
881,000 medical personnel. A new rural cooperative medical service system has
been tried out in 333 counties (cities) across the country. It covers about 100
million rural residents so far, including 80.4 million farmers.
The state has strengthened its overall supervision over food and drugs. It
cracks down heavily on such illegal and criminal acts as the manufacture and
sale of counterfeit and inferior foodstuffs and drugs, and poisonous and harmful
foodstuffs in order to ensure the safety of consumers. Meanwhile, it has adopted
effective measures to prevent, treat and control serious epidemics. It quickly
brought under control and eventually eliminated the SARS epidemic that occurred
in Guangdong, Beijing and part of Anhui Province. The State Council has issued
the "Notice on Enhancing the Prevention and Treatment of AIDS." A working
committee on the prevention and treatment of AIDS was set up, and a national
conference on the prevention and treatment of AIDS was held. The state has
provided free anti-AIDS medicine to patients among farmers and to other patients
in straitened circumstances. In AIDS-prevalent areas, people receive anonymous
examinations free of charge, and pregnant women with the HIV virus receive free
medical screening to prevent them from spreading the virus to their babies.
Orphans of AIDS patients are exempted from paying school fees, and financial
support is given to needy AIDS patients. President Hu Jintao has visited AIDS
patients in hospitals, showing that the state attaches great importance to the
prevention and treatment of AIDS and that it cares about AIDS patients.
To ensure the people's health and safety, and to protect their interests and
right to enjoy a wholesome environment, the state revised the "Law on the
Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste," issued the
"Measures on the Licensed Management of Dangerous Waste," "Measures Regarding
Administrative Penalties for and Management of Medical Waste" and the "National
Plan for the Construction of Installations for the Disposal of Dangerous and
Medical Waste." In order to ensure the people's health and protect the
environment, the government launched a special campaign to rectify and punish
enterprises which illegally discharged pollution. In the campaign, it dealt with
3,365 severe cases of environmental pollution that seriously harmed people's
rights and interests, and closed down 6,462 enterprises that seriously polluted
the environment. With this effective crackdown, the environmental quality of
some areas was improved noticeably.
At present, the general health of the Chinese people is better than that of
the average level of middle-income countries, and ranks among the top of the
developing countries in this respect. The average life expectancy has increased
from 35 years before the birth of New China in 1949 to the present 71.4 years.
The mortality rate of women in childbirth has dropped from 1,500 out of 100,000
in 1949 to 51.3 out of 100,000 in 2003, and the infant mortality rate from 200бы
before the birth of New China to 25.5бы in 2003.
