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(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-01 07:35
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Fair wealth distribution
The premier stressed the importance of the fair distribution of social wealth.
"It is unfair if a society's wealth is only in the hands of a few people. In that case, the society is doomed to instability," Wen told netizens.
He said it is the government's responsibility to make the "cake of social wealth" as big as possible and the government also should help distribute the "cake" in a fair way.
The fair distribution of social wealth concerns social justice, Wen said.
He called for an increase in people's incomes in relation to national income, and the use of fiscal and tax instruments to help disadvantaged groups.
Wen said the country had about 270 million low-income residents. "We should provide care to all of them," he said.
Household registration
Wen said China would advance the reform of its household registration system to solve problems for new-generation migrant workers.
He said reform is key to helping the country's young rural migrant workers, who have lived and worked in cities for a long time, to blend into urban society.
Migrant workers have already become a main force of China's industrial forces, Wen said.
Under the current system, migrant workers' registered permanent residences, or "hukou" in Chinese, remain in the countryside, making it hard for them to obtain welfare in urban workplaces.
'Great dignity'
Chinese citizens shall enjoy full freedom and rights within the framework of the Constitution and laws, which is key to the promotion of the "greater dignity" of the population, Wen said. Explaining his comment on "letting the Chinese live with greater dignity", Wen said all people should be equal before the law.
He said the ultimate purpose of a country's development should be none other than meeting the increasing material and cultural needs of the people, and that social development should be based on the full development of individuals.
Meanwhile, the premier also pledged that China must and should be able to curb the misuse of public funds by promoting democracy and public supervision. The government must make the use of public resources transparent by having all administrative expenditures included in the budget system and known to the public, he said.
Yu Hai, a sociology professor at Shanghai-based Fudan University, said: "The fact that the premier stresses the 'greater dignity' of the people indicates a higher level of governance and a renewed commitment from the government to the people."
Xinhua and China Daily
