During his recent inspection tours in north China's Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province, Chinese top legislator Li Peng urged care for and protection of people's basic interests.
Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, asked local officials to firmly bear in mind that the aim of the Communist Party of China was to serve the people whole-heartedly. He urged them to do concrete things to benefit the people.
The tours took him to economic and technological development zones, container docks, water supply projects and a privately-funded "university city," among other places.
Li went into classrooms at the "university city," a real estate project in Langfang in Hebei Province that houses 20-odd universities and colleges, and chatted with teachers and students.
Li said private investment in education was good for the country. Private investors should be allowed to reap reasonable economic returns, but should not be solely profit-driven.
One reason for his tour is research on drafting a law to promote private investment in education.
(Xinhua News Agency December 2, 2002)
