Distribution of socail wealth

Premier Wen Jiabao talked with netizens about many "livelihood concerns" of Chinese people during an online chat on Saturday.

It is the government's responsibility, Wen said, to "make the cake of social wealth as big as possible" and the government's conscience to "distribute the cake in a fair way."

The fair distribution of social wealth concerns social justice, he said.

He called for an increase of the proportion of residents' income in the distribution of national income, and the use of fiscal and taxation instruments to help "the disadvantaged groups."

In the era of the Internet, the Chinese people have become more aware of their rights, the South Korean news agency Yonhap said.

With China's economy gaining momentum and people's income increasing, the public will become ever more concerned with economic issues such as employment, medicare, housing and pension, it said.

Pierre Picquart, an expert on China from the University of Paris, said China should give priority to economic growth and create more wealth in order to improve the people's living standards.

On the other hand, efforts should be made to achieve a balance between regional development and urge those who have become rich first to contribute in return to society, Picquart said.

Moreover, he said it is also very important to ensure adequate investment in public institutions such as schools and hospitals, and improve social security and welfare policy on medical care, retirement and vacation.

It is also necessary to devote great efforts in developing educational system, which is essential for both improving people's living standard and constructing a harmonious society, Picquart said.

The expert stressed that education is key to proving equal opportunities and maintaining national cohesion.

Network political participation

According to the China Internet Network Information Center, an increasing number of Chinese choose cyberspace to express their opinions.

Currently, there are more than 400 million Chinese, who have access to the Internet.

In June 2008, Hu talked with net users via an online forum, the first time that China's leaders conducted direct online communications with web users.

Wen jumped in his first ever online chat on Feb. 28, 2009, facing questions from nearly 300,000 netizens and mobile phone users on such topics as unemployment, the wealth gap, social justice and democracy.

More and more people in China are now gaining access to the Internet, and online communications have attracted great interest from the Chinese leaders, said an article in the BBC Chinese website.

During communications with their leaders, the netizens expressed strong concerns about social issues concerning people's welfare such as housing, medicare, employment and U.S.-China relations, the article said.

Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asia Institute of National University of Singapore, said that it was a very good way for the Chinese leaders to reach out to the people.

Yonhap News Agency said that the Internet has become a major channel for the Chinese media and web portal to solicit public opinions for the upcoming parliamentary sessions.

The deputies to the National People's Congress and members of the National Committee of CPPCC will explore even more efficient ways to communicate with the netizens during this year's parliamentary sessions, it said.