Housing, education and jobs are the main areas of concern for
urban residents and they would like to see these issues addressed
by the country's top legislators next month, according to a recent
poll.
The Social Survey Institute of China (SSIC), a non-governmental
organization, polled 2,000 people in 16 major cities including
Beijing and Shanghai, and asked them what they would like to see
covered at next month's annual session of the National People's
Congress (NPC).
Nearly four in five respondents said they were worried about
rising house prices and poor services provided by property
management companies.
Urban real estate prices have seen a rapid rise in recent years.
According to the World Bank, housing prices worldwide correspond to
household income earned over five to seven years. But in China,
that figure is 11 years worth of earnings.
About three in five respondents were concerned about limited job
opportunities.
Despite a record 11 million job openings this year, 14 million
urbanites including those entering the job market, laid-off workers
and migrants from rural areas might find themselves unemployed. The
pollsters said laid-off personnel, disabled people and fresh
university graduates would have the most difficulty finding
jobs.
As tuition fees keep rising in educational institutions, nearly
three in five surveyed complained about the increasing cost and
corruption.
High medical expenses, rising inequality, personal safety,
financial fraud and the rule of law are also listed as major
worries.
"The findings show that these are very personal concerns," Wang
Xing, the public opinion center director of SSIC, said. "We hope
their concerns reach the legislators."
Asked whether communication between the public and the
authorities was smooth and open, only about 11 percent of the
respondents replied in the positive; 42 percent said it was
"so-so"' and the others said it was ineffective.
(China Daily February 24, 2006)