一件感动的事作文400字

工程管理中的虚拟现实技术应用

BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Top political advisor Jia Qinglin met visiting Taiwan journalists here Thursday, expecting media to bridge the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.     Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), urged media on both sides to improve cooperation and exchanges as a bridge between people across the Strait.     Their cooperation will help create a favorable environment for cross-Straits exchanges and encourage people on both sides to work for peaceful development, he said, when meeting with journalists from the Taiwan-based United Daily News (UDN) headed by Duncan Wang, chief executive officer (CEO) of UDN Group.     Jia appreciated the efforts UDN has made to improve relations and promote cooperation across the Strait.     The two sides of the Strait have seen favorable interaction since last year, while the relations headed for a peaceful development, he said. "We hope people on both sides can benefit from the improving ties and the region can remain in peace and stability." Jia Qinglin (5th L, front), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), poses for group photo with journalists from the Taiwan-based United Daily News (UDN) headed by Duncan Wang (4th R, front), chief executive officer (CEO) of UDN Group in Beijing, capital of China, April 9, 2009.Both sides of the Strait should move ahead under the principles of building mutual trust, laying aside disputes, seeking consensus and shelving differences, and creating a win-win situation, he said.     "We can continue cross-Strait talks stage by stage, easy issues and economic topics first, difficult issues and political topics later," he said. "Now we should pay more attention to improving economic cooperation so as to normalize economic relations as early as possible."     Efforts should be made to establish an economic cooperative mechanism that fits the region's reality, he said.     The two sides of the Strait should also promote more exchanges in the cultural and education sectors and improve communications between common people, he added.     The Taiwan journalists were visiting the mainland at the invitation of Xinhua News Agency.

CANBERRA, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Li Changchun, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), met with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd here Saturday, and the two leaders pledged to combat the financial crisis and further develop bilateral ties.     After conveying greetings from Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao to Rudd, Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, expressed sympathy to Australia for the recent bushfires and floods. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (1st R) meets with Li Changchun (1st L), a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, in Canberra, capital of Australia, March 21, 2009On bilateral ties, Li proposed both countries keep high-level exchanges and he welcomed Rudd and other Australian leaders to visit China.     He suggested the two countries expand economic cooperation on the basis of mutual benefits. "Proceeding from the fundamental interests of our development, our two countries should promote energy and resources enterprises to forge long-term strategic cooperative relations," he said.     He also urged the two sides to steadily advance negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement in line with active, pragmatic, balanced and mutually beneficial principles.     Australia is a major destination for Chinese overseas students and tourists. Li pledged to strengthen bilateral cultural links between the two peoples. He welcomed the Australian side to participate in the World Expo due to be held in Shanghai in 2010.     Both China and Australia are important countries in the region.Li suggested both countries maintain close consultation on such major matters as combating the financial crisis and coping with climate change. Li Changchun (L Front), a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, visits the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, capital of Australia, March 21, 2009The Group of 20 London Summit will be due in early April. Rudd told Li that he anticipated meeting again with Chinese President Hu Jintao during the summit. The close contacts between the leaders of the two countries have promoted the growth of bilateral ties and the expanding common interests have opened broad prospects for bilateral cooperation in all areas, he said.     He also spoke highly of the stimulus measures adopted by China after the financial crisis. He said that the role of G20 should be given full play for accumulating a consensus for addressing the current financial and economic problems.     On the reform of the international financial system, emerging countries should increase their say and decision-making rights, he said.     Also on Saturday, Li visited the National Portrait Museum and National Museum of Australia.     Li arrived in Australia on Friday. Australia is the first-leg of Li's four-nation tour which will also take him to Myanmar, the Republic of Korea and Japan.

BEIJING, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council, or the cabinet, issued a notice Tuesday that urged governments at all levels to make every possible effort to expand employment.     The notice said that the deepening global financial crisis makes it more difficult to offer jobs for new labor force and unemployment risks continue to increase. In response, governments should adopt a more vigorous employment policy to maintain stable employment and social order.     Governments at all levels should give priority to employment of enterprise staff, college graduates, laid-off and migrant workers and demobilized officers.     They should take active measures to reduce employment burdens on enterprises and supervise their layoff activities to protect workers' legal rights.     If an enterprise's job-cutting plan involves more than 20 workers or more than 10 percent of the entire staff, the company should file a report to the local trade union or notify all staff 30 days before the layoff.     Tax authorities should offer exemptions, including turnover tax and individual income tax, to laid-off workers who started their own business and extend the exemption approval deadline to the end of 2009.     Enterprises that sign one-year or above contracts with laid-off workers and pay their social insurance fees will also be exempted from several taxes with the approval deadline also extended to the end of 2009.     Workers who fail to find employment by end of 2009 will be able to continue claiming social security subsidies for a maximum of one year.     The notice also required governments to improve employment services such as professional training, adding that new employment and unemployment rates would be key factors in assessing government success

株洲一般准分子治疗近视价格是多少

BEIJING, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has stressed that "supervision" is one of the key missions in 2009 for government organizations to tackle corruption amid the economic crisis, according to Wen's speech script released Wednesday by the State Council.     "The impact of the global economic crisis was still amplifying. Companies' profits shrinking, financial income reducing, job situation worsening... Under such circumstances, it's of great importance for government organizations to reform and tackle any kind of corruption," Wen said.     Wen said this year supervision would be focused on whether government officials' work was quick and effective, policies and regulations practised properly, projects carried out scientifically, funds used reasonably among others.     He said any kind of fund misappropriation, unqualified buildings and other problems which closely affected people's livelihood should be strictly prevented.     Also, Wen stressed supervision in food and drug industry to avoid any safety issues involving unapproved food additives and fake and unqualified medicines.     Wen initially made those remarks at a conference on clean governance here on March 24. The highlights for his speech on that day were released Wednesday by the State Council.     Wen ordered at the conference that Party and government organizations at all levels should reduce reception expenditures this year by 10 percent over 2008, cut car purchase and maintenance fees by 15 percent on the basis of the average amount in the recent three years, and reduce expenditure for business trips abroad by 20 percent based on the average amount over the past three years.     Wen said, this year efforts will be focused on investigation and handling of corruption cases involving government organs and officials, and hard strikes will be made in cases of "collusion between officials and businesses, power-for-money deals and commercial bribery cases."     He urged tougher scrutiny over funds and projects that were closely related to people's livelihoods, such as medical insurance in rural areas, pensions, payment in arrears for migrant workers, water conservation, railroads and other forms of transportation, and urban construction.     Individuals or groups should be severely punished for making defective or harmful farm products or imposing unreasonable charges on farmers, students and patients, he said.     Wen praised the anti-corruption progress made by various government officials last year, especially in supervising and managing relief funds for the May 12 earthquake and the post-quake construction.     "Only by building a clean and efficient government can we unite everyone as an entire force to cope with the crisis and get over it," he added.     Last year, China investigated 2,687 government officials for graft, malfeasance and infringement of people's rights. Those included four people at the province or ministry level, according to a report delivered by Prosecutor-General Cao Jianming in earlier March.     Also, the government investigated 10,315 cases of commercial bribery cases committed by government workers, involving a total sum of more than 2.1 billion yuan (309 million U.S. dollars).

GENEVA, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Switzerland and China will soon sign a formal agreement on enhancing their cooperation in the field of sustainable water management and hazard prevention, the Swiss government said on Tuesday.     Federal Councilor and Environment Minister Moritz Leuenberger will make his first official visit to China on April 16 to sign this agreement, according to a government statement.     During his five-day visit, Leuenberger will also hold official discussions with Chinese Minister of Water Resources Chen Lei, attend the third Yangtze Forum and visit the Three Gorges Dam, the statement said.     Due to their mountainous regions, Switzerland and China face similar natural hazards, according to the statement.     At the same time, both countries harness their hydropower and are faced with the question of river basin management, which is likely to become more pressing due to climate change, it added.

BEIJING, April 5 (Xinhua) -- China's cement production expanded 10.3 percent year on year to 159 million tonnes in the first two months, amid the booming fixed-asset investment, data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) have shown.     The growth rate was 6.8 percentage points higher than that for December, as the fixed-asset investment accelerated due to the government's 4 trillion yuan (584.8 billion U.S. dollars) stimulus package, according to the MIIT data released on Friday.     The wholesale price was 284 yuan per ton, 5 yuan cheaper than the price peak in November, but 27.8 yuan higher than that for January.     China's urban fixed asset investment rose 26.5 percent year on year to 1.027 trillion yuan (150.35 billion U.S. dollars) in the first two months, as the government's stimulus plan propped up construction of housing and railways.     MIIT figures showed that the output value of the building material sector rose 14 percent year on year in the January-February period, two percentage points higher than that for December.     The figures were calculated based on the comparable working days in the first two months, since China's Lunar New Year holiday fell in February last year, but in January this year.     Zhu Hongren, official with the MIIT said the building material sector was back on track after the stimulus plan showed effect. However, the excess production was still prominent, and efforts must be made to eliminate outdated capacity.

株洲治疗低度近视方法有哪些

LIAOYUAN, Jilin Province, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- From March to September last year, 48-year-old Li Guizhi visited the detention house of the Liaoyuan City in northwestern Jilin Province five times, asking detainees whether they had been tortured.     Her question list also included: "Do you know you have the right to ask lawyers?", "Do you have enough food every day?", "Are you taken to see a doctor when you are not well?".     Li, a community director of the Nankang Street of the Longshan District of Liaoyuan, was in her spare time a public inspector of detention houses. It means she could randomly select time to visit local jails and randomly choose detainees to talk to.     She was also entitled to inspect the jails' condition and examine the jails' records so as to ensure that custody procedures were in line with the law and detainees were not treated inhumanely.     As the first pilot city of the detention inspection system in China, Liaoyuan had 20 public inspectors like Li. They were doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs, civil servants or community workers. Meanwhile, they were either local legislators, political advisors or "people's supervisors", a voluntary post to oversee jurisdiction. They were recommended to be selected as public inspectors thanks to their legislation or public working experience.     These inspectors who had received legal training would put forward proposals for improvements after each tour of the detention house which, therefore, would be obliged to ameliorate its living or working conditions accordingly.     This year, the pilot program continued to be unfolded in Jinzhong of northern Shanxi Province and Zhang Jiagang of eastern Jiangsu Province. More cities would be added to the list.     The Research Center of Litigation System and Judicial Reform under the Beijing-based Renmin University of China was the organizer of the program in China.     Sponsored by the European Union, the program was part of a package of cooperation agreements in political, legal, cultural and economic fields. Legal cooperation between China and Europe covers areas such as the death penalty, anti-torture and professional training of judges and prosecutors.     Chen Weidong, a professor with the Renmin University who was in charge of the program, told Xinhua that treatment of detainees, to some extent, reflected the level of protection of the public's rights and interests.     "Through the introduction of public supervision, which is more independent, to oversee the detention place exercising its power, the system is conducive to ensuring that prisoners are treated in accordance with the law," he said.     China signed the United Nations Convention against Torture in Dec. 1986 which ensured that torture was a criminal offence. "Parties must promptly investigate any allegation of torture, and victims of torture must have an enforceable right to compensation," it said.     In addition, the UN passed in 2002 the Optional Protocol to the Convention, which encourages the establishment of an international inspection system for places of detention.     Currently, more than 20 countries, mainly European nations, have set up the system. Many other developed countries, including the United States, have not established such a system.     According to the Chinese law, law makers and political advisors were entitled to patrol detention places, reflecting parliament's and political advisory bodies' supervision over administrative organs.     Over the past few years, Chinese procuratorates had set up the "people's supervisor" system, in a bid to prevent injustice amid law execution. Most procuratorates of the country had selected people's supervisors.     However, the Supreme People's Procuratorate statistics show Chinese procuratorates punished 930 government workers in 2006 who illegally took people into custody and extorted confessions by torture.     Chen said in the past, supervision was mainly institutional, such as recording and videotaping, and asking lawyers to be present, when interrogating suspects.     "Public supervision, which we currently advocate, enables the public to gain a close and independent observance of the detention places, the result of which is more convincing and can help improve China's image in protecting human rights," he added.     Chen said the inspection system examined many factors, ranging from living conditions of detention places to the fulfillment of various legal rights and interests.     "It neither depends on high-tech equipment nor is confined to the number of legal workers or the time of working, so it can be promoted in any region with any economic situation," he added.     However, a survey about the pilot program, conducted by the Renmin University, showed that detectives generally opposed to the system, saying inspection activities in detention places would "disturb their working plans and easily allow detainees refuse to confess".     Many lawyers believed the "independent" inspection should be worthy of the name, which means detention house staff should be absent when inspectors talked to detainees. It could alleviate detainees' pressure.     TO BE PROMOTED NATIONWIDE     As a main propeller of the program in Liaoyuan, Wang Wensheng, the chief procurator of the Liaoyuan People's Procuratorate, admitted, "All reform will face resistance, risks and blame."     Chen said local officials' open-mindedness and achievements of local judicial reform was considered as key factors in selecting pilot cities. Liaoyuan was an outstanding example.     The first phase of the program, which started as early as 2006,ended last year. The second phase, with Jinzhong and Zhang Jiagang cities added to the list, aimed to find out if the system would be feasible in the country's hinterland and economically prosperous regions.     The project team hoped the system, which was considered as an innovation of China's judicial reform, could be promoted nationwide, but no timetable could be set at the moment. The project was scheduled to end in 2012.     Cheng Lei, a member of the project group and a post doctorate with the law institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, "Hopefully, the system can be extended to other parts of the country through legislation. Provincial legislation is easier, such as a law on detention place inspection system in northwestern Jilin Province."     Li Guizhi, the Liaoyuan public inspector, said she felt a great honor when becoming an inspector.     "Such voluntary work, without any payment, should convey a message to the world that China's efforts against torture is in line with international practice," she said.

BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The worst drought in half a century in northern China will continue until next month, although it will be eased slightly by rainfall forecasted for the next ten days, according to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) on Friday.     In March, rainfall in most parts of the wheat-growing areas in northern China is expected to be slightly less or close to normal. However, the wheat crops in Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Henan and Anhui will continue to suffer, said Xiao Ziniu, director of the National Climate Center (NCC) under the CMA said at a videoconference. Workers of a power company help a farmer to irrigate the field in Wuhe County, east China's Anhui Province, Feb. 5, 2009. China raised the drought emergency class Thursday from level two to level one, the highest alert, in response to the worst drought to hit northern China in half a century, according to a State Council meeting.China declared the highest level of emergency on Thursday in response to the rare drought which began in November. President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have ordered all-out efforts to combat the severe drought in the country's vast wheat-growing area to ensure a good summer harvest.     About half of the total, or 78.77 million mu (5.25 million hectares) of the affected wheat lands have been irrigated in the nation's eight wheat-growing provinces as of Feb. 5, according to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) on Friday. Soldiers of armed police force help a farmer to irrigate his field in Huainan, east China's Anhui Province, Feb. 5, 2009. The ministry said it would offer farmers subsidies on irrigation equipment purchase to aid the relief work. Prices of the facilities should not be higher than the market price for last year.     Buying water pump and the watering machinery will be subsidized to meet the urgent demand of the anti-drought effort, said an official with the ministry, stressing that the product quality should be insured.     The area of affected crops has expanded to 161 million mu by Feb. 6. 4.37 million people and 2.1 million livestock are facing drinking water shortage, according to data released by the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters. People barrel drinking water supplied by the local government at Chengguan Township in Ruyang County of Luoyang City, central China's Henan Province, Feb. 4, 2009. The city had received a reduced effective rainfall since October 2008, almost 80 percent less than in the same period of previous years. The local government has allocated some 25 million yuan (3.65 million U.S. dollars) for drought relief and crops protectionThe scarcity of rain in some parts of the north and central provinces is the worst in recorded history, as the drought spanned from autumn to winter -- a weather trend not witnessed in years, according to Sun Zhengcai, the Minister of Agriculture. The situation in some areas is extremely severe, he said.     Lack of rain has created a layer of three-to-ten-centimeter of dry soil in many parts of northern China, Sun said.     As the drought will not be relieved in the short-run, more seedlings are likely to be killed as spring approaches, which could threatened the summer harvest. Photo taken on Feb. 5, 2009 shows a dead wheat seedling in the farmland of Taiping township of Huining County, northwest China's Gansu Province. The county has suffered from serious drought since September 2008 with about 150,667 hektares of farmland and 184,000 people and 326,000 livestocks short of water. MOA data showed more than 2.3 million mu of wheat seedlings in Henan, Anhui and Shandong provinces had perished.     This year's summer harvest became more unpredictable as Puccinia striiformis, or stripe rust, one of the most damaging wheat disease began to show signs of spreading across the nation, MOA warned.     The dangerous disease, which could cause losses up to 40 percent, has affected more than 11.3 million mu (753,000 hectares) of wheat in seven provinces, 4.6 million mu more than the same period last year. The northwestern Gansu and Ningxia saw the worst outbreak in 19 years.

株洲激光治白内障的眼科哪家好

BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The following is the full text of the Report on the Work of the Government delivered by Premier Wen Jiabao at the Second Session of the Eleventh National People's Congress on March 5, 2009 and adopted on March 13, 2009:          REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT     Delivered at the Second Session of the Eleventh National People's Congress on March 5, 2009          Wen Jiabao     Premier of the State Council     Fellow Deputies,     On behalf of the State Council, I now present to you my report on the work of the government for your deliberation and approval. I also solicit comments and suggestions on the report from the members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).          I. Review of the Work in 2008     The year 2008 was truly eventful. Our country's economic and social development withstood severe challenges and tests that were rarely seen before. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the people of all our ethnic groups faced difficulties squarely, worked with courage and determination, surmounted all difficulties and obstacles, and made new achievements in reform, opening up and socialist modernization.     - The national economy continued to maintain steady and rapid growth. GDP topped 30 trillion yuan, an increase of 9% over the previous year. Overall price rises were held in check. Government revenue was 6.13 trillion yuan, an increase of 19.5%. Grain output rose for the fifth consecutive year and totaled 528.5 million tons, a record high.     - Reform and opening up were further deepened. New breakthroughs were made in reforms in key areas and crucial links, such as the fiscal, taxation, financial and pricing systems and administration. Imports and exports totaled US$ 2.56 trillion, an increase of 17.8%. Paid-in foreign direct investment reached .4billion.     - Development of social programs was accelerated, and the living standards of the people continued to rise. A total of 11.13million more urban residents entered the workforce. Urban per capita annual disposable income reached 15,781 yuan, an increase of 8.4% in real terms, and rural per capita net income reached 4,761 yuan, up by 8% in real terms.     - Great victories were won in the fight against massive natural disasters. The Beijing Olympics and Paralympics were held successfully, and the Shenzhou VII manned space mission was a complete success.     These achievements signify that we have taken new and solid steps along the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. They have greatly fortified the courage and strength of the people of all our ethnic groups to surmount difficulties and will definitely encourage us to bravely forge ahead on the new historical course.     Last year, we accomplished the following important work:     1. Making timely and resolute adjustments to macroeconomic policies and doing everything possible to maintain steady and rapid economic development     We maintained the right direction, focus, intensity and pace of macro control, and adopted a series of policies and measures to promote steady and rapid economic development. In a complex and volatile situation, we actively responded to the severe impact of the global financial crisis and worked hard to make our macro control more proactive, targeted and effective. In the middle of the year, when energy and grain prices on the international market were high, world economic growth slowed, and exports from and economic growth in China's coastal regions began to decline, we promptly shifted the priority of macro control to maintaining steady and rapid economic development and controlling price hikes, and adopted relevant fiscal, taxation and financial measures. In September, the international economic situation started to deteriorate sharply and its negative impact became increasingly felt in China. We again resolutely shifted the focus of macro control to preventing economic growth from slowing down too quickly. We implemented a proactive fiscal policy and a moderately easy monetary policy. We raised export rebate rates three times, lowered the benchmark interest rates on savings and loans for financial institutions on five occasions, reduced required reserve ratios four times, suspended the individual income tax on interest earnings from savings, reduced securities transaction stamp tax rates, cut taxes and fees on housing transactions, and increased credit support to small and medium-sized enterprises. In accordance with the requirement that we act fast, be forceful, take targeted measures and stress implementation, we promptly introduced ten measures to further boost domestic demand and promote economic growth, and implemented them without delay. We adopted a succession of policies and measures to encourage financial institutions to support economic development, promote sound development of the textile and other light industries and the real estate market, expand consumption by improving distribution, maintain steady growth in foreign trade, and keep the employment situation stable. At the same time, we stepped up efforts to formulate plans for restructuring and revitalizing key industries. Together, these measures have played a crucial role in alleviating serious problems affecting economic performance, enhancing confidence, stabilizing expectations and maintaining steady and rapid economic development.     We continued to strengthen our work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers without any letup. Central government budgetary spending on agriculture, rural areas and farmers was 595.5 billion yuan for the whole year, a year-on-year increase of 163.7 billion yuan or 37.9%. This included 103 billion yuan, twice the figure for the previous year, in direct subsidies to grain producers, general subsidies for agricultural production supplies, and subsidies for superior crop varieties and the purchase of agricultural machinery and tools. We significantly raised minimum grain purchase prices three times, with the total increase exceeding 20%. We implemented a temporary policy for purchasing and stockpiling major agricultural products. We intensified the protection of arable land and the construction of agricultural water conservancy projects, and increased overall agricultural production capacity. We supported the production of hogs, oilseeds and dairy products. These policies and measures played an important role in maintaining and stimulating the enthusiasm of farmers, ensuring the supply of major farm products and increasing rural incomes, and provided strong support for maintaining overall stability in economic and social development.     We unswervingly promoted independent innovation and economic restructuring. We launched 16 major national science and technology projects, and established a number of new national engineering centers, key laboratories and enterprise technology centers in such fields as information technology, biotechnology and environmental protection. We successfully developed a number of key technologies and major equipment in the areas of regional aircraft, automobiles powered by new energy sources and high-speed railways. The central government invested 116.3 billion yuan in science and technology, an increase of 16.4%. Significant steps were taken in reorganization of the telecommunications and civil aviation industries. We continued to eliminate backward production facilities. Last year, we shut down small thermal power plants with a total capacity of 16.69 million kilowatts and closed 1,054 small coalmines. Investment in infrastructure and basic industries was increased, and a number of major projects in energy, transportation and water conservancy were completed or launched. Steady progress was made in implementing the master strategy for regional development, and economic development in different regions became better coordinated.     We steadfastly promoted energy conservation, emissions reduction and ecological and environmental protection. The central government allocated 42.3 billion yuan to support development of ten key energy conservation projects and environmental protection facilities. The daily sewage treatment capacity rose by an additional 11.49 million tons in urban areas, and desulfurization equipment was installed in coal-fired power plants with a total capacity of 97.12 million kilowatts. Energy consumption per unit of GDP fell by 4.59% from the previous year; chemical oxygen demand fell by 4.42%; and sulfur dioxide emissions fell by 5.95%. For the past three years combined, total energy consumption per unit of GDP dropped by 10.08%; chemical oxygen demand dropped by 6.61%; and sulfur dioxide emissions dropped by 8.95%. We built on the achievements in returning farmland to forests and restoring livestock pastures to grasslands, and carried out ecological conservation projects such as protecting virgin forests and developing the Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve in Qinghai Province. We implemented the plan to prevent and control water pollution in major river valleys and regions and issued the white paper China's Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change.     2. Balancing economic and social development and strengthening all aspects of social development with the focus on improving people's lives     Efforts were intensified to increase employment and improve the social safety net. We improved our policy to stimulate and expand employment by encouraging business startups, and enforced the minimum wage system. The coverage of all social security schemes continued to expand, with 17.53 million more urban workers subscribing to basic old-age insurance, 20.28 million more subscribing to basic medical insurance, and the unemployment, workers' compensation and maternity insurance steadily expanding to cover more workers. Pensions of enterprise retirees rose by 110 yuan per month per person. We launched trials to reform the basic old-age insurance system for employees of government-affiliated institutions. We actively explored ways to establish a new system of old-age insurance for rural residents and made steady progress in making social security available to rural migrant workers in urban areas and farmers whose land has been expropriated. We comprehensively improved the system of cost of living allowances for both urban and rural residents, and provided allowances to 66.19 million residents. We raised living allowances for low-income groups and university students in a timely fashion. Preferential treatment enjoyed by key entitled groups was increased substantially. We intensified efforts to develop low-income housing and renovate shantytowns, thus alleviating some of the housing difficulties of the low-income population. An additional of more than 48 million rural people gained access to safe drinking water.     Further progress was made in promoting fair education for all. Free compulsory education became available to all students, urban or rural, throughout the country, and all rural students receiving compulsory education obtained free textbooks. The standards for repairing and renovating school buildings in the central and western regions were raised, and the government allocated 3.25 billion yuan to provide heating to rural primary and secondary schools in the north. Development of vocational education was accelerated. The national financial aid system for students was further improved. The central government spent 22.3 billion yuan and local governments increased funding as well to assist more than 20 million students. Grants of 1,500 yuan per student per annum were given to secondary vocational school students from rural areas or needy urban families, benefiting 90% of the current student population in these vocational schools.     Steady progress was made in reform and development of the pharmaceutical and health care system. A total of 814 million people, accounting for 91.5% of the rural population, now benefit from the new type of rural cooperative medical care system. The number of selected cities participating in trials of the basic medical insurance system for urban residents increased from 88 to 317, and the number of participating individuals increased by 73.59 million to 117 million. Significant progress was made in developing a system of community-based health services in urban areas. We continued to expand the coverage of the reward and assistance system for rural families complying with family planning regulations, and implemented the "lower birthrate equals faster prosperity" program in more places in the countryside.     We accelerated the development of culture and sports. Public cultural infrastructure facilities were improved, the cultural industries developed rapidly, and reform of the cultural management system was constantly deepened. We mobilized all resources and hosted a distinctive and high-level Beijing Olympicsand Paralympics, thus fulfilling the century-old dream of the Chinese nation, and Chinese athletes competed hard and brave and scored excellent achievements in the Games. This greatly aroused the patriotism of all our people and strengthened the cohesiveness of our nation.     We continued to strengthen democracy and the legal system. The system of local-level democracy was further improved. Significant progress was made in enhancing law-based government. Last year, the State Council submitted eight bills, including a draft of the Social Insurance Law and draft amendments to the Law on Protecting Against and Mitigating Earthquake Disasters, to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation. It also formulated or revised 30 administrative laws and regulations. The Regulations on Making Government Information Public was fully implemented. The public security system for crime prevention and control was strengthened. We battled against secessionist and terrorist activities, protected China's national security and maintained social stability. Our work related to ethnic minority, religious and overseas Chinese affairs further improved.     3. Vigorously advancing reform and opening up and injecting fresh vitality and impetus into economic and social development     Institutional restructuring of the State Council was basically completed and that of local governments is progressing steadily. Comprehensive rural reforms continued to deepen, and reform of collective forest rights was instituted throughout the country. SOE reform was deepened. The transformation of the Agricultural Bank of China and China Development Bank into joint stock companies proceeded smoothly. The new Law on Corporate Income Tax went into effect, and real estate taxes were unified for domestic and overseas-funded enterprises and Chinese and foreign individuals. After years of deliberation, reform in pricing, taxes and fees for refined petroleum products was smoothly introduced. Aplan for reform of the pharmaceutical and health care system was devised and referred to the general public for comments. These innovations in systems and mechanisms have laid a solid foundation for our long-term development.     The country opened wider to the outside world. We vigorously implemented the strategy of competing on quality and diversifying export markets. We increased efforts to establish innovation bases to invigorate trade through science and technology and bases for providing services outsourced from other countries. We supported the export of products with Chinese trademarks and intellectual property rights. We improved the policy system for the processing trade. We steadily opened service industries wider to the outside world and provided more guidance to orient foreign investment in China. We integrated existing funds and set up new ones designed to promote external economic and technological cooperation. We promulgated regulations on managing overseas contracted projects and rectified the system of administration of cooperative overseas labor services. We actively promoted energy and resources cooperation overseas, further expanded our assistances to other countries, and the pace of enterprises going global was accelerated. Further progress was made in the development of free trade zones, and in our economic dialogues with major trading partners and mutually beneficial cooperation with other developing countries.          Fellow Deputies,     A massive earthquake that shocked the world struck Wenchuan on May 12. Under the firm leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, people of all ethnic groups in China, especially in the quake zone, worked as one and fought in unison against the earthquake disaster. The people's army rushed to the frontlines without thinking of their own safety. We launched an earthquake rescue and relief operation that accomplished its work faster, mobilized more personnel and committed more resources than ever before in China's history. We steadfastly gave top priority to saving people's lives. We pulled 84,000 survivors out of the rubble. We promptly repaired damaged infrastructure, and resolutely unblocked the Mount Tangjia quake lake to avert potential secondary disasters. We did our utmost to prevent an epidemic from occurring and ensured that there was no major outbreak of diseases after the deadly earthquake. The central government allocated 38.4 billion yuan for quake relief and 74 billion yuan for post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction. We promptly introduced a host of policies and measures to support the quake zone. We energetically organized one-to-one assistance to designated areas affected by the earthquake. People from all sectors of society in China made generous donations, both in cash and in kind; our compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as well as overseas Chinese contributed generously to the disaster relief campaign; and the international community provided us with earthquake rescue and relief assistance. All this combined to forma boundless source of strength for the Chinese people to overcome the disaster. This hard struggle against the earthquake produced uncountable touching and brave exploits and fully demonstrated the great indomitable and unyielding spirit of the Chinese people, thus writing a heroic chapter in the history of the nation.     None of the achievements we made last year came easily. They were the result of overall planning and correct leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary, as well as the concerted and strenuous efforts of the whole Party, the entire army and the people of all our ethnic groups. On behalf of the State Council, I hereby express our sincere gratitude to the people of all our ethnic groups and to the democratic parties, mass organizations and people from all sectors of society. I also express our sincere thanks to compatriots in the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions and Taiwan and to overseas Chinese, as well as to foreign governments, international organizations and friends in other countries that take an interest in and support China's modernization drive.     While acknowledging our achievements, we must be clearly aware that we face unprecedented difficulties and challenges.     First, the global financial crisis continues to spread and get worse. Demand continues to shrink on international markets; the trend toward global deflation is obvious; and trade protectionism is resurging. The external economic environment has become more serious, and uncertainties have increased significantly.     Second, continuous drop in economic growth rate due to the impact of the global financial crisis has become a major problem affecting the overall situation. This has resulted in excess production capacity in some industries, caused some enterprises to experience operating difficulties and exerted severe pressure on employment. Factors leading to decline in government revenues and increase in government expenditures have increased. It has become more difficult to maintain steady agricultural development and keep rural incomes growing.     Third, institutional and structural problems that have long hindered healthy economic development still remain, and some of them are still prominent. Consumption demand is insufficient, and development of tertiary industries is sluggish. Our capacity for independent innovation is weak. Consumption of energy and other resources is high. Environmental pollution is serious. Disparities in development between urban and rural areas and between regions are widening.     Fourth, some problems affecting the vital interests of the people have not been fundamentally alleviated. There are still many problems demanding urgent solution in the areas of social security, education, health care, income distribution and public security.     Fifth, order in the market is not well standardized; market oversight and law enforcement are not fully in place, and the social credit rating system is still in need of improvement. A number of serious and major incidents concerning food and workplace safety have occurred, which have inflicted serious loss of life and property on the people and taught us a sobering lesson.     We need to thoroughly appreciate how serious and complex the international and domestic economic situations are, be more mindful of potential perils and crises, fully exploit favorable conditions and actively respond to all challenges so that we can successfully accomplish all our tasks and prove worthy of the great expectations and trust conferred on us by the people.

NEW YORK, March 9 (Xinhua) -- China Green Agriculture Inc., the first Chinese company listed on the new New York Stock Exchange Amex market, opened for trading on Monday.     Green Agriculture, which produces and distributes humic acid based liquid compound fertilizer, is also the first Chinese company to list on NYSE Euronext markets in 2009.     "Today is an exciting milestone in the company's continued growth," said Tao Li, chief executive officer of China Green Agriculture.     "Since becoming a public company last year, we have devoted a great deal of resources to improving our corporate governance and level of oversight in order to meet the requirements of a more senior exchange," he added.     So far, NYSE Euronext has 66 companies listed from Greater China, including 56 companies from mainland China listed on the NYSE Euronext, 5 from Hong Kong on NYSE Euronext Markets, and 5 Taiwanese companies on NYSE Euronext Markets.     The total global market capitalization of NYSE Euronext-listed companies from the mainland China is 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars, and 1.2 trillion for all companies from Greater China.