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5.
Working hard to improve people's lives and paying particular attention to
solving prominent problems relating to their vital interests. We further
implemented all policies and measures to stimulate employment and reemployment.
We continued successful efforts to provide the "two guarantees" (guarantee of a
basic living allowance for workers laid off from state-owned enterprises and
guarantee that the pensions of retirees are paid on time and in full, tr.) and
ensure needy urban residents receive subsistence allowances. The national
standards for basic retirement benefits for workers retired from enterprises
were raised on July 1, 2004. Many local governments also promptly raised the
level of their subsistence allowances. We continued work on the pilot projects
to improve the urban social security system. A total of 146.5 billion yuan was
spent from the central budget for social security last year, an increase of 18.1
percent over the previous year.
Poverty alleviation work was intensified, with 12.2 billion yuan appropriated from the central budget for this work, thereby reducing the number of poverty-stricken rural people by 2.9 million year-on-year. Some areas of the country suffered serious natural disasters last year. Governments at all levels promptly provided disaster relief and carried out reconstruction work, assisting 68 million victims.
We
solved problems in the expropriation of rural land, the demolition of urban
housing and the transformation of enterprises that infringe on people's
interests in accordance with the law. Overdue payments owed to farmers as
compensation for expropriated land were basically cleared up. We thoroughly
solved the problem of defaults on construction costs in the construction
industry and unpaid wages for migrant workers. A total of 33.2 billion yuan of
wages that had been owed for a number of years has now been paid. Safeguarding
the people's lawful rights and interests was given greater importance in the
government's work.
6.
Strengthening democracy and the legal system and doing everything possible to
safeguard social stability. Democracy at lower levels of government was
vigorously expanded, the system for making village affairs more transparent and
the system of self-governance for villagers were strengthened, and the system of
self-governance of communities and management at the primary level in urban
areas was further improved. The government attached great importance to
legislation. The State Council formulated the Program for Comprehensively
Implementing Government Administration in accordance with the Law, which clearly
set forth the objectives and tasks for establishing a law-based government. It
also produced revised drafts of the Company Law and the Law on the Prevention
and Control of Infectious Diseases, a draft Civil Service Law and four other
bills and enacted 32 administrative regulations. Governments at all levels
conscientiously implemented the Administrative Permission Law and eliminated or
streamlined a large number of items requiring administrative approval. Oversight
of law enforcement was strengthened, and auditing and supervision authorities
did a great deal of outstanding work. We organized the formulation of a national
master plan for responding to public emergencies, as well as 105 special and
departmental plans for responding to emergencies such as natural disasters,
catastrophic accidents, public health emergencies and other threats to public
security. All provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under
the central government also formulated their own emergency response plans.
Breakthroughs were made in building a law-based government and fully performing
government functions.
We
intensified efforts to build a clean government and combat corruption, focusing
on solving outstanding problems that threatened people's interests. We
strengthened all facets of public security and improved the system for crime
prevention and control. We severely cracked down on criminal activities in
accordance with law and slowed down the rise in serious crime. We strengthened
and improved the work of handling letters and visits from the people and strove
to resolve all kinds of conflicts.
We
intensified work relating to ethnic, religious and overseas Chinese affairs.
Further progress was made in modernizing national defense and the army. Our
diplomatic work entered a new phase, and China's international standing rose
higher.
The
outstanding accomplishments in all areas last year are the result of the Central
Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary staying on top of the
overall situation and providing correct leadership. They are also the result of
the people of all ethnic groups working together as one and tenaciously striving
to succeed. All localities and departments did a great deal of arduous and
painstaking work, and all sectors of society and people from all walks of life
made important contributions. On behalf of the State Council, I would like to
express our sincere gratitude to all our workers, farmers, intellectuals and
cadres; to all those who work for the cause of socialism; and to the members of
the People's Liberation Army, the armed police and the public security police. I
would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the people of all our ethnic
groups, to all the democratic parties and mass organizations and to people from
all walks of life for their trust in and support for the work of the government.
I would also like to express our sincere thanks to all our compatriots in the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region
and Taiwan as well as overseas Chinese who care about and support the
development and reunification of our motherland, and to all our friends in other
countries who care about and support China's modernization drive.
We not only made great progress in all our undertakings during the past year, but also enhanced our understanding through a wealth of practical experience. Governments at all levels took more initiative in implementing the central authorities' decisions and plans and became better able and more aware of the need to take advantage of this period of important strategic opportunities to promote development. The main things we have learned from our experience are as follows.
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