Chinese vice premier stresses rehousing of low-income workers

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang (R Front) talks with hut dwellers in the Nanshi hut zone of Shuangyashan, a city in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)
Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang said over the weekend that the rebuilding of shanty towns which have long-housed low-income workers is an important part of the country's effort to improve people's livelihood.

Li made the comment at a working conference to address the rebuilding of shacks in cities and at compounds of large state-owned mining enterprises held in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, on Saturday.

Such shanty towns are shabby residential areas that were built when the country started to industrialize its economy, and people living there are more often low-income wage earners in factories.

These people are either living in a space that is less than 10 square meters for each, or in apartments that have no tap water or sewers, or even toilets or kitchens.


Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang (C) addresses a meeting on the rebuiding of cities and hut zones, in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)
China is aiming to offer proper housing for 7.5 million low-income urban households and 2.4 million households living in shanty towns of coal mines, reclamation areas, and forest zones in three years, Premier Wen Jiabao said in March.

There are another 1.14 million living in shabby apartments at compounds of state-owned mining enterprises, which are not included in the planning of cities, according to the conference.

Li urged to integrate the rebuilding of such shanty towns with the low-income housing project, initiated by the Chinese government to build affordable houses for low-income urban residents.

He also asked planners to build homes at different price levels in a region so as to avoid the concentration of poor population in a certain neighborhood.

Li stressed that the government should dominate the project of rehousing low-income workers, but it could invite funding from outside the government.

He said the government should secure land supplies for such projects and materialize tax supports.

The central government pledged to allocate 49.3 billion yuan (7.25 billion U.S. dollars) from the central budget to finance such housing projects in 2009 alone.

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China backs world gathering of parliaments' speakers

Chinese top legislator Wu Bangguo promised on Monday the country would take an active part in preparing for a world speakers conference.

"China supports the Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU) on holding the Third Conference of Speakers of Parliaments and will actively participate in its preparations," the senior official told visiting IPU President Theo-Ben Gurirab during an hour-long meeting in Beijing.

Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature, said China hoped the speakers' conference would step up the member states' communication and cooperation in the multilateral framework.


Wu Bangguo (R), chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, meets with Theo-Ben Gurirab, president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and speaker of Namibia's National Assembly (Parliament), in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 10, 2009. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)
The IPU, established in 1889, is the international organization of parliaments of sovereign states. The union, with more than 150 members, serves as a focal point for worldwide parliamentary dialogue.

The first and the second speakers meetings took place in New York in 2000 and 2005.

Gurirab appreciated the NPC's long-standing and generous support to the IPU , calling for China's bigger role in the organization.

Wu reviewed China's 19-year diplomatic relations with Namibia as Gurirab also served as speaker of Namibia's National Assembly.

"China and Namibia are friends and partners," Wu said, citing cooperation in politics, economy, trade, education, public health, culture, justice, among other fields.

Wu pledged China's continued efforts to cement relations with Namibia among governments, parliaments and people.

As the global economic downturn also took its toll on African countries, Wu said China would encourage its companies to do businesses and invest in Africa.

China will urge the international community to pay more attention to concerns of African countries in tackling the economic slump, Wu said.

Gurirab said he was impressed with China's achievements in its modernization drive, which Namibians and other African people also felt proud of.

The 70-year-old speaker said his country would like to learn from China's economic progress and work more closely with China for better and faster development.

Gurirab is on a week-long China visit, which will also take him to west China's Gansu province.

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