The Chinese government did a good job over the past year under
the new leadership in boosting economic growth and improving
people’s lives, said members of the Education Group of the 10th
National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative
Conference (CPPCC) Friday and Saturday.
The group held discussions on Friday and Saturday afternoons on
the report on the work of the government delivered by Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao at the ongoing second session of the 10th
National People’s Congress (NPC) on Friday morning.?
The education group is made up of teachers and education
administrators. It includes representatives ranging from the vice
minister of education and the former president of the prestigious
Tsinghua
University to a teacher at the Lhasa Experimental Primary
School in the remote Tibet Autonomous Region.
“The nation’s power grew last year as the country maintained
fast economic growth and made new breakthroughs in high technology,
which is best illustrated by the success of China’s first manned
space flight,” said Zhu Qingshi, a chemist and president of the
prestigious University of
Science and Technology of China. He is a former deputy to the
8th (1993 - 97) and 9th NPC (1998 - 2002).
Wang Dazhong, a nuclear engineer and former president of
Tsinghua University, said he was much inspired by Premier Wen’s
report.
“As the premier said in his report, last year was an unusual one
for China. Despite the unexpected outbreak of the SARS (severe
acute respiratory syndrome) and frequent natural disasters, the
country made remarkable achievements in economic and social
development,” said Wang.
“The concept of balanced development raised by the new
leadership is made at a good time. China’s per capita GDP reached
US$1,000 in 2003 and experiences of other countries tell us that a
nation’s development enters a crucial stage at this point, as many
social conflicts tend to be brewing. Any misjudging or mishandling
of the social situation could possibly lead to economic stagnation
and even social unrest. Environmental degradation and scarcity of
natural resources also pose dangers to the smooth development of
the country. The new concept of balanced development will serve as
a good guideline to tackle these emerging problems,” said Wang.
Duan Xiong, a mining machinery professor with the China University of Mining
and Technology in Xuzhou, east China’s Jiangsu Province, said
Wen’s promise to further regulate land use is excellent news for
farmers who are losing land from the rapid building of industrial
parks and other big construction projects across the country.
Li Xing, a young mathematician and vice president of the remote
northwestern Ningxia University, said he felt reassured when
hearing Wen’s pledge that his government will continue to provide
free compulsory schooling in poor western areas.
Cai Keqin, a geology professor with the China University of
Geosciences in Beijing, said he remains cautious concerning the new
tasks Wen specified in his work report because they are difficult
to fulfill, although he is very satisfied with the performance of
Wen’s government last year.
Cai also said he admires the new leadership’s boldness in
solving problems that have been plaguing Chinese farmers for
thousands of years, such as their heavy tax burden.
Chen Chuanyu, a former physics professor and current vice mayor
of Guangzhou City, said the government needs to reconcile the
discordance between the rapidly developing higher education and the
backward elementary and secondary education. He advised the
government to shift its focus to the latter.
Li Baofang, a geoscientist with China University of Geosciences,
echoed Chen and urged the government to put more energy into basic
education.
Zhou Yuanqing, a computer science professor and former vice
minister of education, warned that teaching quality is dropping in
some universities that are crazy about expanding their sizes.
(China.org.cn by staff reporter Chen Chao, March 8, 2004)