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Zhu sees threat of social unrest
BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- China's Zhu Rongji offered a glowing review of his five years as premier in a policy speech Wednesday, while warning that social unrest involving overtaxed farmers and the urban unemployed could threaten the country's future. Zhu, in his final work report to the National People's Congress, or parliament, pressed lawmakers to "nip grass-roots conflict in the bud" by helping laid-off workers and struggling farmers. Zhu has presided over a booming Chinese economy, with growth of between 7 and 8 percent for much of the past decade. The tough-talking premier, who stepped down from his number three spot in the ruling Communist Party in November and is due to retire from government at the two-week congress, attacked corrupt officials and extolled the virtues of clean government. His report also said China will push to resume dialogue with rival Taiwan as soon as possible, and will seek the lifting of a decades-old ban on direct trade, transport and mail links with the island Beijing regards as a renegade province. Problems of farmersZhu reserved his most passionate plea for help for the tens of millions of urban jobless, and for higher incomes for the 800 million rural Chinese -- a problem the no-nonsense reformer has said brought on the "most headaches" of his tenure. "We must exert a great deal of effort to resolve the problems of back pay for workers and overburdened farmers," Zhu said. "Deal correctly with inner conflicts among the people under a new situation. Deal appropriately with sudden, collective incidents and work hard to resolve grass-roots conflicts and disputes to nip them in the bud," Zhu said in the speech. Despite such problems, Zhu said the economy, with "hard work", should grow at least 7 percent in 2003, after clocking 8 percent growth in gross domestic product last year. China's countryside has faced growing problems in recent years in the form of a glut of farm produce, sliding prices and slowing rural income growth, according to Zhu. "Agricultural, village and farmers' problems relate to the overall situation of China's reform, opening and modernisation. We cannot neglect them or relax at any time," his report says. "If we do not change these conditions, they will severely dampen farmers' enthusiasm, rock the foundations of agriculture and even threaten the entire national economy," Zhu said. Tax reform proposalsTo ease the burden, Zhu called for an expansion of pilot tax reform proposals that will eliminate arbitrary fees on farmers' incomes, and supports the movement of rural workers to cities to look for work. Some 800 million of China's 1.3 billion people live in the countryside and the ruling Communist Party considers boosting their incomes as crucial to its survival. Zhu also hinted that China will extend to the whole nation a social security system for the urban jobless that was piloted in the northeastern "rust belt" province of Liaoning, scene of major worker protests last year. "Since 1991, a trial scheme in the whole of Liaoning province to improve the urban social security system has had an obvious effect, and has accumulated experience to be gradually extended nationwide," he said. Liaoning saw one of the worst of a rash of protests in 2002 just weeks after last year's congress. Jobless workers swarmed into government headquarters in Liaoyang city, outraged by what they charged was rampant corruption and unpaid benefits. Zhu, who made fighting corruption one of the top priorities of his time in office and earned the nickname "Boss Zhu," called for a deepening of the anti-graft campaign and asked officials to listen when people complain. "We must not build 'image projects' which fish for fame and compliments, and must correct the bad habits of false reporting and boasting," he said. Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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