Measures mooted to help the poor
( 2002-03-15 00:18 ) (1 )

Chinese law-makers and political advisers urged the government to take effective measures to help the poor and the disadvantaged so as to ward off the possibility of social unrest.

The hard living conditions these people face are of great concern to deputies of the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC) as well as members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Poverty in urban areas has become a big problem haunting reform and social stability, said CPPCC member Wang Daming.

China so far has over 6 million laid-off workers and 20-30 million urban citizens living in poverty.

Wang suggested that the central government should step up its efforts to establish a sound social security system.

For Guo Daiyi, an NPC deputy from Chongqing Municipality, the most efficient way to help the poor and disadvantaged is to make sure that the law looks after their interests.

Guo led 35 deputies in putting forward a motion to the country's top legislature, the NPC, suggesting the drafting of a social security law.

The central government has already drafted several regulations and rules to deal with such issues as unemployment and social insurance, but so far, there is no law regulating social security work, said Guo in an interview with China Daily.

He said that many enterprises -- most of which are debt-ridden State-owned enterprises, township enterprises, share-holding companies and private firms -- refuse to provide social security benefits to their employees.

The lack of funds has become one of the biggest problems for China's social security work, said Guo.

According to the current practice in China, both employers and employees should pay social insurance premiums, which are to be put in the personal account of employees. But in many cases this is simply not being done.

The social security law should draft some articles to deal with problems like this, and at the same time, social security coverage should be expanded, according to Guo.

People or companies refusing to follow the new law will be subject to charges. This will put pressure on them to honour the rights of employees, he said.

The living conditions of the poor and disadvantaged have close links with employment. Premier Zhu Rongji said in his report to the NPC that "special employment assistance should be given to members of disadvantaged groups.''

The central government has regarded as the social security work as the "lifeline'' of the country.

Financial Minister Xiang Huicheng said earlier that the central government has put 98.2 billion yuan (US$12 billion) into social security last year.

Apart from the urban poor, the nearly 100 million migrant workers, who come from rural areas to work in the cities are also included in the disadvantaged group.

Wang Chunlan, an NPC deputy from East China's Anhui Province, joined 36 NPC deputies in presenting a proposal to draft a law protecting the rights of migrant workers.

Xinhua News Agency quoted the well-known Chinese scholar Hu Angang as saying that it took four to five years, starting in 1993, for China to achieve a "soft economic landing'' and effectively control the threat of runaway inflation.

From now on, he said, it is imperative for the State to cut the high unemployment in urban areas while maintaining comparative high economic growth, to realize a second "soft landing'' for the economy in four or five years.

(China Daily by Sun Shangwu)