BEIJING, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- The 17th Central
Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) started its third plenary
session on Thursday to discuss important changes in rural reform and development
policies.
A draft of the Central Committee decision on major
issues concerning rural reform and development would be deliberated at the
four-day meeting, said a statement issued after the session opening.
The document is expected to guide reform and
development in rural areas. Before the session, the draft was reviewed by senior
Party members and advisors from various walks of society, including delegates to
the 17th CPC National Congress, and amended according to their proposals.
The CPC leadership agreed that changes and problems
had occurred in the countryside where economic reform started 30 years ago, the
statement said.
Based on the changing reality, advancing rural reform
would be a key step for the country, it said. This would also lay the foundation
for China's development strategy.
On Sept. 30, President Hu Jintao, general secretary
of the CPC Central Committee, visited Xiaogang village in eastern Anhui
Province. In 1978, a group of villagers there decided to adopt a household
contract responsibility system, which entrusted the management and production of
public owned farmlands to individual households through long-term contracts.
Later the system, described by then Chinese leader
Deng Xiaoping "a great invention of Chinese farmers", was widely adopted across
the country and triggered the economic reform.
Hu's visit has underscored the importance the
government has placed on the issues of farmland management and rural
development.
BEIJING, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao
made a tour to east China's Anhui Province on Tuesday to inspect rural reform
and development.
Hu, also General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
Central Committee, visited Xiaogang village of Fengyang county, the first in the
country to initiate the household contract responsibility system in 1978. Full story
BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of China's top
political advisory body met on Tuesday to call for ideas on rural development
and reform.
The Standing Committee of the 11th Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee will hold its third
meeting in mid October. Its major topic is rural development and reform,
according to a statement issued after a meeting of CPPCC National Committee
chairman and vice chairpersons presided over by Chairman Jia Qinglin. Full story
BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- A national association for
water supply and water-efficiency technology in rural areas was launched on
Tuesday by the Ministry of Water Resources. The move was China's latest
initiative to enhance agricultural production and improve farmers' livelihood.
Zhai Haohui, the new association's head, said the
institution would intensify its research on water supply and water efficiency in
rural areas. It would conduct research and development on water-saving measures
and technologies for ensuring drinking water safety in such areas and help
commercialize the new technologies. Full story
BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China
(CPC) will intensify an education campaign among its members and officials to
better implement the guiding principles for the country's economic and social
development.
Studying and implementation of the Scientific Outlook on
Development at Party organizations would be checked by inspection teams sent by
the CPC Central Committee, the Party said here on Tuesday. Full story
HOHHOT, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Liu Yunshan, a senior official
of the Communist Party of China (CPC), on Sunday called for more cultural
investment in rural areas so that farmers can share the country's cultural
progress.
Liu, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central
Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee,
said cultural development in rural areas lagged behind the huge progress made in
the country on the whole. Full story
