11月23日,審計署公布了對企業職工基本養老保險基金、城鎮職工基本醫療保險基金和失業保險基金等三項基金的審計結果，結果表明，國家2萬億社保基金中有71億存在挪用違規現象。作為困難群眾生活的源頭活水，社會保障制度應是社會的“穩定器”和“安全網”。社會保險基金是“高壓線”，任何人都不得侵占挪用。

An audit report published Thursday found that about 7.1 billion yuan (US$900 million) of the country's 2 trillion yuan (US$253 billion) social security fund had been misappropriated. According to the National Audit Office, the funds were siphoned off for "overseas investment, commercial loans to companies, construction of government buildings and other purposes." Of the total, 2.3 billion yuan (US$291 million) was stolen before 1999 and 4.8 billion yuan (US$607 million) after that, said the report. "The social security funds, except for sums paid to beneficiaries, must be deposited in banks or used to purchase State treasury bonds," said the report. The agency's investigation, which started in September, audited pension, unemployment and health insurance funds in provinces across the country, and discovered corruption and irregular management. At a health insurance fund management centre in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the director and the finance chief transferred 31.9 million yuan (US$4 million) of medical insurance premiums to bank accounts of friends and relatives. China provided pensions to 43.67 million retirees last year and granted living subsidies to 3.62 million laid-off people. (China Daily)

Vocabulary:

social security fund：社保基金 siphoned off: 抽取（基金） beneficiary: 受益人 pension: 養老金 medical insurance premiums: 醫療保險金 living subsidy: 生活補助 （英語點津陳蓓編輯）