BEIJING, Feb.27 -- Guangdong will provide free education to children of impoverished city dwellers, the provincial education department chief Zheng Detao said at a news conference last week.

    Zheng did not reveal a timetable for the new policy. He said the provincial government would first provide free education to all rural children starting this autumn.

    Zheng said he did not expect there would be a large number of children from low-income families living in cities, making it easier for the government to fund the policy.

    The provincial government will set aside 30 million yuan (US$3.7 million) a year to fund private schools to encourage more entrepreneurs to set up education-related businesses, according to Zheng.

    At the first news conference of the ongoing provincial people's congress session Thursday, officials from the provincial departments of health, finance, labor and security, reform and development also talked about many issues concerning public interest.

    Medical cost

    The cost of medical checkups could be reduced by 30 percent on average, said Huang Xiao-ling, vice chief of the provincial health department. Huang said the government was considering putting community hospitals into the national healthcare scheme so that people could visit community hospitals using their social security cards to ease the pressure on large hospitals.

    Unemployment rate

    The registered unemployment rate is expected to reach 3.8 percent in 2010, up from 2.6 percent in 2005, said Fang Chaogui, chief of the provincial social security department. He said more farmers would lose their land because of the province's growth and urbanization, thus pushing the unemployment rate up. Fang said his department would plan a scheme to provide pensions for farmers whose land is acquired for industrial or commercial purposes.

    Cross-border bridge

    Two problems ¡ª concerning environmental protection and checkpoint sites ¡ª related to a cross-border bridge linking Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao haven't been solved, said Chen Shanru, the chief of provincial development and reform commission. Chen said the locations of the checkpoints should be decided by the Central Government. If the sites are fixed, the bridge would be designed soon.

    Govt. expenses

    When asked why the government increased its own expenses by 5 percent in its 2006 fiscal plan, Liu Kun, the finance chief, said the money would be used on daily government operations.

    (Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)