Lin Min
LIVELIHOOD was a hot word in Mayor Xu Zongheng’s work report to the annual session of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress on Thursday, with the word being mentioned 23 times in his report.
Xu told city legislators that Shenzhen residents should be able to share the achievements of the city’s economic boom, with its per capita GDP surging to the highest on the Chinese mainland. He said the city government should try its best to make the living standard in Shenzhen the highest on the mainland.
Inflation
The city would try its utmost to cap inflation at 4 percent this year, the mayor said. With the city making every effort to increase supplies, the 4.1-percent increase in the consumer price index in Shenzhen last year was lower than the national average.
Xu admitted that due to surging food and energy prices in Chinese and international markets, Shenzhen would face greater difficulties in taming inflation this year. But the city government must do whatever it takes to “bring price increases to a relatively reasonable level” so that inflation would not greatly lower residents’ living standards, Xu said.
Income
The government would try every means to increase residents’ incomes, Xu said. The city would adopt a more pro-active salary policy, a salary adjustment mechanism pegged to inflation and salary consultations between employers and employees as part of the efforts to ensure fair pay for the working population.
Relief for the poor would be increased according to inflation to make sure their lives would not be adversely affected by rising prices, Xu said.
Education
The mayor promised to improve education outside the special economic zone (SEZ). The city government would complete the renovation of 96 village-run primary schools outside the SEZ by the end of next year to provide better education for schoolchildren in Bao’an and Longgang districts.
The city government would speed up the construction of the Southern University of Science and Technology and improve the standards of existing institutions of higher learning to make universities here more compatible with the economic might of the city.
Housing
In a bid to deal with a top public complaint about unaffordable housing prices, the mayor said the city government would try to provide a much bigger supply of subsidized housing this year.
The government would ensure at least 20 percent of available housing this year is low-cost with low-rent apartments provided by the government for eligible families.
Health care
The city planned to build four new full-service hospitals in 2008 and 2009 to tackle public dissatisfaction with an acute shortage of adequate medical services.
Xu also promised to continue medical reform and improve the conduct and ethics of medical workers.
Traffic
In an endeavor to map out a long-term solution to the city’s chronic traffic jams, the mayor said he expected commuters would be able to reach the city center within 30 minutes from any part of the SEZ and 45 minutes from outside the SEZ by 2011, when a 177-kph Metro and light-rail network was scheduled to be completed.
Lin Min
LIVELIHOOD was a hot word in Mayor Xu Zongheng’s work report to the annual session of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress on Thursday, with the word being mentioned 23 times in his report.
Xu told city legislators that Shenzhen residents should be able to share the achievements of the city’s economic boom, with its per capita GDP surging to the highest on the Chinese mainland. He said the city government should try its best to make the living standard in Shenzhen the highest on the mainland.
Inflation
The city would try its utmost to cap inflation at 4 percent this year, the mayor said. With the city making every effort to increase supplies, the 4.1-percent increase in the consumer price index in Shenzhen last year was lower than the national average.
Xu admitted that due to surging food and energy prices in Chinese and international markets, Shenzhen would face greater difficulties in taming inflation this year. But the city government must do whatever it takes to “bring price increases to a relatively reasonable level” so that inflation would not greatly lower residents’ living standards, Xu said.
Income
The government would try every means to increase residents’ incomes, Xu said. The city would adopt a more pro-active salary policy, a salary adjustment mechanism pegged to inflation and salary consultations between employers and employees as part of the efforts to ensure fair pay for the working population.
Relief for the poor would be increased according to inflation to make sure their lives would not be adversely affected by rising prices, Xu said.
Education
The mayor promised to improve education outside the special economic zone (SEZ). The city government would complete the renovation of 96 village-run primary schools outside the SEZ by the end of next year to provide better education for schoolchildren in Bao’an and Longgang districts.
The city government would speed up the construction of the Southern University of Science and Technology and improve the standards of existing institutions of higher learning to make universities here more compatible with the economic might of the city.
Housing
In a bid to deal with a top public complaint about unaffordable housing prices, the mayor said the city government would try to provide a much bigger supply of subsidized housing this year.
The government would ensure at least 20 percent of available housing this year is low-cost with low-rent apartments provided by the government for eligible families.
Health care
The city planned to build four new full-service hospitals in 2008 and 2009 to tackle public dissatisfaction with an acute shortage of adequate medical services.
Xu also promised to continue medical reform and improve the conduct and ethics of medical workers.
Traffic
In an endeavor to map out a long-term solution to the city’s chronic traffic jams, the mayor said he expected commuters would be able to reach the city center within 30 minutes from any part of the SEZ and 45 minutes from outside the SEZ by 2011, when a 177-kph Metro and light-rail network was scheduled to be completed.
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