4. Accelerating the development of social programs. The central government
spent 116.8 billion yuan in 2005 on science and technology, education, health
and culture, an increase of 18.3 percent over the previous year. In addition,
9.54 billion yuan from the sale of treasury bonds was spent on these items.
In science and technology, we improved the national innovation system and
strengthened basic research and infrastructure development. Important progress
was made in major R&D projects, including those to design and develop
advanced integrated circuit chips, third-generation mobile communications,
high-performance composite materials, and high-grade, digitally controlled
machine tools. Under the leadership of the State Council, we formulated the
Outline of the National Long- and Medium-Term Program for Scientific and
Technological Development based on two years of in-depth research and extensive
deliberation during which the views of all concerned parties were solicited.
In education, we focused on strengthening compulsory education, especially in
rural areas. Over 7 billion yuan was allocated by the central and local
governments to pay tuition and miscellaneous fees, provide free textbooks, and
subsidize room and board for 17 million students from poor families in 592
designated poverty-stricken counties. Free textbooks were also provided to over
17 million students from poor families in the central and western regions. As a
result, many students who had dropped out of school were able to continue their
studies. We continued to implement the plan to make nine-year compulsory
education basically universal and to basically eliminate illiteracy among young
and middle-aged adults in the western region. We built, renovated or expanded
over 2,400 boarding schools in rural areas and provided distance learning
equipment for 160,000 rural primary and secondary schools and learning centers
over the past two years. Vocational education was further improved, and higher
education continued to develop.
In health, we put great effort into improving the public health system and
rural health care work. Over the past three years, the central and local
governments spent 10.5 billion yuan to basically complete establishment of a
disease prevention and control system that operates at the provincial, city and
county levels. A total of 16.4 billion yuan was spent on setting up a medical
treatment system for public health emergencies, and work is proceeding smoothly.
The central government spent 3 billion yuan from the sale of treasury bonds to
support the establishment of health clinics in towns and townships in the
central and western regions, thus improving public health and medical treatment
conditions there. Trials of a new type of rural cooperative medical care system
were extended to 671 counties with a total of 177 million rural residents. We
intensified efforts to prevent and treat major diseases such as AIDS and gave
high priority to the prevention and control of highly pathogenic avian
influenza, keeping it from spreading and infecting people. Progress was made in
population work and family planning.
In culture, we launched a trial reform of the cultural system, upgraded
culture-related facilities for public use, implemented the project to share
cultural information, and increased cultural exchanges with other countries.
Further successes were achieved in the country's athletic endeavors. Greater
efforts were made to promote socialist cultural and ideological progress.
5. Striving to increase employment and improve social security work. We
increased policy support and spending to expand employment and reemployment. The
central government last year allocated 20.9 billion yuan to provide basic living
allowances and reemployment subsidies to employees laid off from state-owned
enterprises, 2.9 billion more than the year before. We did a good job providing
employment for urban residents newly entering the workforce, college graduates
and demobilized soldiers. A special fund was also set up in central government
budget to support job training for farm laborers looking for urban employment
and to assist demobilized soldiers from urban areas in finding jobs for
themselves.
The social security system underwent steady improvement, and its coverage was
expanded. The work of incorporating basic living allowances for workers laid off
from state-owned enterprises into the unemployment benefit system was completed
in 17 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the
central government. All urban residents entitled to basic living allowances are
now basically receiving them. Allowances for key entitled groups were increased
significantly, and 7.46 billion yuan was allocated from the central government
budget for allowances for entitled groups, a 90 percent increase from the
previous year. The basic framework of a social assistance system has been
established in 28 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly
under the central government and in 2,300 counties and cities. Disaster relief
and anti-poverty work was intensified. Total expenditures from the central
government budget for fighting natural disasters and providing disaster relief
came to 8.9 billion yuan last year, and more than 90 million people were helped.
The central and local governments allocated 16.2 billion yuan for poverty
alleviation, and the number of rural residents living in poverty decreased by
2.45 million.
6. Strengthening democracy and the legal system. Democracy continued to make
advances at the local level, and elections for village committees were held in
21 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central
government. The running of governments, factories and villages was made more
transparent. Government decision making was made more scientific and democratic,
and a system of public notices and public hearings on matters affecting the
interests of the people was instituted. Much effort was put into passing
government legislation. The State Council sponsored seven bills, including the
revised versions of the Labor Contract Law, the Law Guaranteeing the Rights and
Interests of Women, and the Individual Income Tax Law (draft), and 22
administrative regulations were drawn up and promulgated by the State Council,
including the Emergency Measures for Handling Major Animal Epidemics and the
Special Regulations for Preventing Coalmine Accidents. The State Council
formulated and implemented the Master State Plan for Rapid Response to Public
Emergencies and plans for managing specific emergencies, thus improving our
ability to respond to emergencies. Oversight was strengthened through auditing
and supervision. We carried out thorough preparatory work for implementing the
Civil Servant Law of the People's Republic of China. The new Regulations on
Petitions in the Form of Letters and Visits were implemented, improving people's
access to government departments that handle such petitions and ensuring order
in submitting and handling them. Steady progress was made in the reform of the
judicial system. A campaign to correct irregularities and promote impartiality
in law enforcement was launched to safeguard citizens' lawful rights and
interests. We continued to improve all facets of public security and severely
punished illegal and criminal activities in accordance with the law. The number
of criminal cases dropped, and social stability was maintained.
Work related to ethnic groups, religions, overseas Chinese, and Taiwan was
further improved. We continued to make progress in the modernization of national
defense and the army. Significant progress was made in diplomacy.
We owe these successes to the correct overall leadership of the Central
Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary and to the concerted
efforts and hard work of government employees and the general public. On behalf
of the State Council, I would now like to express our sincere thanks to the
people of all ethnic groups, to the democratic parties, to all people's
organizations, and to people from all walks of life. I would like to sincerely
thank our compatriots from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative
regions and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese. I would also like to sincerely
thank our friends around the world who care about and support China's
modernization drive.
