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)