[China] Chinese Lawmakers to Discuss Poverty

from The Washington Post

By JOE McDONALD

BEIJING -- For months, Chinese leaders have been trying to quell tensions in the restive countryside with promises of more schools, health care and other aid to people who have missed out on the country's economic boom.

When parliament begins its annual session Sunday, they'll need to start explaining how their ambitious commitments will be carried out _ and paid for.

The National People's Congress is largely powerless, but the 10-day meeting provides a stage for strategies to address what the government says is now its priority _ spreading prosperity to rural China, home to 800 million people.

The issue is crucial for communist leaders at a time of rising rural protests over poverty, corruption and the seizure of farmland to build factories and shopping malls.

Leaders also are expected to outline efforts to encourage spending by consumers, driving economic growth while reducing reliance on exports amid pressure by the United States and others to cut China's soaring trade surpluses.

The Communist Party set the tone with a statement last week that said improving rural life, or "building a new socialist countryside," is the leadership's priority for the next five years.

"You need to have concrete proposals, and I think the leadership is ready to offer something," said Joseph Cheng, chairman of the City University of Hong Kong's Contemporary China Research Center. He said he expects leaders to showcase local programs meant to be imitated nationwide.

The legislative season begins Friday with the opening of the annual meeting of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a 2,200-member advisory body that brings together business, religious and academic leaders, with a sprinkling of movie stars and other celebrities.

Premier Wen Jiabao is expected to open parliament's 10-day session Sunday by reporting on government plans for 2006 and forecasts for economic growth, which outside analysts expect to top 9 percent.

The more than 3,000 National People's Congress delegates usually do no more than endorse policies already decided by communist leaders. But the annual session is a forum for them to air grievances about poverty, corruption or crime and to float their ideas for reform.

The congress also could serve as a platform to publicize efforts to meet government commitments to improve China's energy efficiency, protect the environment and sponsor research in fields ranging from genetics to nuclear power.

President Hu Jintao's government has said for years it wants to spend the next decade focusing on developing the countryside, promising "balanced growth" to narrow the yawning gap between the rich elite and the poor majority.

That goal has taken on special urgency amid mounting rural tensions: the government reported 87,000 protests and other incidents of unrest last year, up 6.6 percent over 2004.

Figures issued by the ruling party last month said rural Chinese workers earn an average of about $400 per year _ with many living on far less _ compared with nearly $1,300 for city dwellers.

A document released Feb. 21 by China's Cabinet, laying out goals for 2006, promises new aid to the countryside, from schools to health care to at least $1.9 billion in new farm subsidies.

Researchers at Chinese think tanks have suggested more radical steps, such as letting farmers own their land for the first time since the 1950s, but the leadership has given no signs of moving toward such a change.

The government repealed farm taxes last year and says it will scrap school fees this year in the country's poor west. The Education Ministry announced this week that it is determined to make good on promises made several years ago to guarantee every Chinese child at least nine years of schooling.

Beijing's ability to finance such ambitious plans has never been better, with a booming economy and surging tax revenues.

But social programs compete for resources with China's 2.5 million-member military, which gets double-digit spending increases nearly every year, and other initiatives such as official promises to pay for more scientific research.

The central government's 2006 budget is to be announced during the National People's Congress session, making clear how much the country will spend.

"If they really want to do it, they have sufficient funds to do it," said Zhou Xiaozheng, a sociologist at People's University in Beijing.

Zhou said the success of such efforts will depend on whether the government can stamp out corruption, taxes imposed illegally by local authorities and other systemic problems.

"We have to wait and see how these measures will be implemented in the future," Zhou said.