More efforts will be made to keep Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong, safer this year, according to the city's mayor.
Zhang Guangning issued his government work report to the deputies of the annual municipal people's congress yesterday. He said the city government will put the safety of its citizens first and boost public security and social order.
"Among other things, Guangzhou will maintain its ‘iron-handed’ approach toward gang-related crimes as well as crimes of severe violence. It will also continue efforts aimed at social evils such as prostitution, gambling and drug addiction," the mayor said.
He said the city will increase funding to that effect. Measures include improving video surveillance, community work, emergency-response, and introducing state-of-the-art crime prevention and control.
Guangzhou will set aside 4.48 billion yuan ($624 million) for public security projects this year, accounting for 17.8 percent of the city's budget.
The city had spent 4.3 billion yuan on similar projects last year.
Guangzhou, which many view as long plagued by a public security problem partly due to a large migrant population, installed more than 100,000 video cameras as part of a security monitoring system citywide last year. The total number of monitoring devices rose to 212,674.
Recent figures by the Guangzhou public security bureau showed that Guangzhou's crime rate last year fell 15.8 percent from 2006, with the total number falling below 80,000, the first time since 2000.
Peng Peng, a researcher with the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, said the city government's efforts to improve public security have been paying off.
Citing a recent survey by Sun Yat-sen University, Peng said Guangzhou citizens' sense of safety has risen by 11.2 percentage points since the end of 2006. Meanwhile their satisfaction with public security rose by 35.8 percentage points, with 86.7 percent of the interviewees feeling safe.
Respondents also ranked public security at the top of the city's five social issues that have witnessed the greatest improvement in the past five years.
Questions:
1.How much money will Guangzhou set aside for public security this year?
2.How many monitoring devices does Guangzhou have now?
3.By how much did Guangzhou’s crime rate fall last year?
Answers:
1.4.48 billion yuan.
2.212,674.
3.15.8 percent.
（英语点津 Celene 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Jonathan Stewart is a media and journalism expert from the United States with four years of experience as a writer and instructor. He accepted a foreign expert position with chinadaily.com.cn in June 2007 following the completion of his Master of Arts degree in International Relations and Comparative Politics.
