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NPC session closes, premier addresses press conference
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PREMIER Zhu Rongji said yesterday that his government is working hard to narrow growing income gaps in the country, partly caused by high incomes in monopolized sectors.
He made the remarks in response to a question at a press conference at the end of the Fourth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC), which endorsed the draft 10th Five-year Plan.
The premier admitted that the income gaps are enlarging in China, a fact that merits full attention.
He attributed the growing income gaps partly to the excessively high salaries in monopolized sectors, such as banking, securities, insurance, power supply, telecommunications, tobacco, petroleum and petrochemicals, and pledged the restructuring of these sectors to break their monopoly.
To tackle the growing income gaps between urban and rural residents, the premier said the government has decided to give “top priority" to increasing farmers' income and is already taking measures toward that end.
The falling grain prices due to oversupply is largely responsible for the stagnant or even declining income of farmers, especially those in the major grain producing areas, Zhu said.
To close the increasingly large income gaps between the employed and the unemployed in urban areas, the premier said, the government will strive to improve the social security network and the re-employment programme.
Zhu also said China will intensify the anti-corruption drive in coming years, in response to a question raised by a CNN correspondent on the NPC deputies' vote on work reports of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate.
Zhu said that he felt heavy-hearted after seeing the voting result. However, he said, it was a big improvement on last year's situation because the work reports were approved with more than a two-thirds majority.
“I don't think this represents the general public's loss of confidence in the ability of the government to wipe off corruption, " Zhu said.
Although the people are not very satisfied with the work of the government, Zhu said, “the general public does trust the government."(SD-Xinhua)
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