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PD editorial on new socialist countryside

(People's Daily)
Updated: 2006-02-23 09:16

The central government has released its first major document of the year calling for the building of a new socialist countryside as the foremost task in the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010). An editorial published on People's Daily hails it as a significant deployment in the process of reform and socialist modernization construction and a great event for building a well-off society in an all-round way in China.

The document has comprehensively analyzed the current agricultural and rural situation, illustrated the significance of building a new socialist countryside and put forward the overall requirement and important policies in carrying out the task. It will be an outline for the Communist Party of China to strengthen the agricultural, farmers and countryside development. To seriously study and solidly implement the document will be very conducive to the good beginning of pushing forward the construction of a new socialist countryside and open a new chapter for rural China.

This is the third consecutive year since 2004 that agriculture, farmers and countryside development have been the first document of the central government. To adapt the new requirements of China's overall development stage of promoting agriculture by industry and pushing forward rural development by urban development, we must uphold the great banners of Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of "Three Represents", implement the scientific concept of development in an all-round way, insist on flexible policies of planning as a whole of rural and urban economic and social development, giving more but taking less in order to build a new socialist countryside. We must coordinately push forward rural economic, political, cultural, social and the party's development according to the requirements of productivity, well-off life, civilized lifestyle, clean and tidy appearance of villages and democratic management.

This is a significant historic task for the whole party and nation. Since the founding of new China and especially reform and opening up, great changes have taken place in China's countryside, rural economic and social development has made well-known achievements. However, current agricultural and rural development is still on a difficult stage, agricultural infrastructure and social development are still very backward, the income gap between rural and urban residents is bigger and bigger, the deep contradiction restraining agricultural and rural development still exists. The long-term effective mechanism of promoting stable grain production and increase of farmers' income has not yet been formed, nor the system of planning as a whole of rural and urban development be established.

In the process of building a well-off society in an all-round way, the most arduous task is in the countryside. Without the well-off countryside, there won't be a well-off society for the whole nation. The next five years will be key to laying a solid foundation for the new socialist countryside construction as well as establishing a coordinated relationship between industry and agriculture, cities and countryside and increase rural affluence. At present, China has the preliminary capacity to consolidate support to agriculture, farmers and rural development. We should grasp the favorable opportunity and ensure that the construction of new socialist countryside has a good beginning and continue with a steady pace by seriously implementing the central government's deployment.

To carry out the task, we should pay attention to both the present situation and the long-term benefits, plan scientifically as a whole by consolidating leadership and implementation.

The emphasis for now and the near future is to further liberalize and develop productivity, grasp key factors restricting agricultural and rural development and take comprehensive measures to consolidate rural infrastructure construction and speed up agricultural scientific and technological progress, change the mode of agricultural growth and improve grain production capacity and push forward modern agricultural development. We should insist on the central task of increasing farmers' income, develop the agricultural growth to its full potential, open more channels to transfer surplus laborers in rural areas and form a long-term mechanism. Grass-root democracy and the self-rule of villagers should be enhanced. We should also complete the open system of village accounting, popularize law education and ensure the masses will enforce their rights of being the master of the country.

We should consolidate the promotion of socialist culture and ethics, speed up the development of education, science, culture and health in rural areas, advocate healthy and civilized lifestyle, and raise new type of farmers. We should strengthen social management and public service in rural areas, specially solve the problems which are mostly concerned, and directly related to the real benefits of farmers, improve their production and living conditions and care for farmers' difficulties for a harmonious society in the countryside.

We should insist on socialist market economy, stabilize and complete basic operation system and comprehensively push forward various reforms in the countryside by respecting farmer's creativity in order to improve the overall vitality of agricultural and rural development. We should try to exert the enthusiasm of various sectors, rely on farmers' industrious work, government support and the participation of social forces to constantly improve the overall appearance of the countryside. We should fully exert the leading core function of the grass-root party organization to provide solid political and organizational guarantee for the construction of a new socialist countryside.

To pay attention to agriculture, farmers and the countryside has always been the party's strategic thought. With Hu Jintao as the general secretary, the Central Committee of the CPC has clearly spelled out the historically significant task after analyzing the current domestic and international situation and comprehensively grasp the characteristics that economic and social development has different stages. This is an inheritance but also development of the party's strategic thought on agriculture, farmers and the countryside since reform and opening up. It's also a strategic measure to consolidate the task and push forward the construction of a well-off society and modernization.

President Hu Jintao and other leaders of the central government have recently made important remarks on building a new socialist countryside at a seminar held by the central government and attended by provincial level officials.

This has reflected the common will of the whole party and people all over the country and the resolution of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council.

The party committees and governments at various level must focus their thoughts on the deployment, deeply understand the importance and urgency of the task, mobilize their willingness and motivation in order to improve their capability of completing the task and be able to shoulder the historic responsibility of building a new socialist countryside.

This is a long-term arduous task and also of great historic significance. As long as all the party members and people all over the country unite to make unremitting efforts and constantly make solid progress, we'll surely be able to make the construction of a new socialist countryside a real great project that benefits the masses.