notching
03-03-2010, 06:18 PM
Experts warn disparity will continue to expand if govt fails to act soon
March 3, 2010
http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/1569/0013729e454e0cf6c5cf19.jpg
During the 2010 Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), it was determined that China recorded its widest rural-urban income gap last year since the country launched its reform and opening-up policy in 1978.
Urban per capita income stood at 17,175 yuan (2,500 dollars) in 2009, compared to 5,153 yuan in the countryside, a ratio of 3.33 to 1, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The agency did not compare that to previous years, but the China Daily newspaper said it was the widest gap since Beijing launched reforms in 1978 that set it on a capitalist path.
The disparity, arising from rapid economic development in coastal areas and cities, while the vast interior has lagged behind, has become a key concern of China's leaders as they seek to maintain social stability and prevent unrest.
The government has announced several new policies recently aimed at addressing the problem by spurring economic development in rural areas and stitching up holes in social safety nets.
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5431/57120469.jpg
There has also been a swelling chorus for reform of a household registration system (Hukou system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hukou_system) 户口) that prevents China's roughly 230 million poor migrant workers from gaining residency in areas other than their hometown.
This denies them access to public services such as unemployment and health insurance, and free public schooling for their children, forcing many to use precious savings to pay for them.
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/3405/68c91bf711.jpg
Housing prices will no doubt be at the top of the agenda at the 11th CPPCC National Committee meeting. Nearly 50 percent of proposals to this year's Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) session are related to the housing sector, a key economic driving force that has fueled growing concern of a property bubble.
CPPCC member Pan Qingling told the China Securities Wednesday that housing prices in Beijing have surpassed those of Tokyo. Housing prices surged 9.5 percent from a year earlier in January, the fastest pace of growth in 19 months attributing the rise to record bank lending of 9.6 trillion yuan and favorable tax breaks.
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/3599/47309477.jpg
A Chinese woman begs with her child on the streets of Shanghai
http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/1926/14916102.jpg
A woman rides past a luxury Porsche sportscar in Shanghai
March 3, 2010
http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/1569/0013729e454e0cf6c5cf19.jpg
During the 2010 Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), it was determined that China recorded its widest rural-urban income gap last year since the country launched its reform and opening-up policy in 1978.
Urban per capita income stood at 17,175 yuan (2,500 dollars) in 2009, compared to 5,153 yuan in the countryside, a ratio of 3.33 to 1, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The agency did not compare that to previous years, but the China Daily newspaper said it was the widest gap since Beijing launched reforms in 1978 that set it on a capitalist path.
The disparity, arising from rapid economic development in coastal areas and cities, while the vast interior has lagged behind, has become a key concern of China's leaders as they seek to maintain social stability and prevent unrest.
The government has announced several new policies recently aimed at addressing the problem by spurring economic development in rural areas and stitching up holes in social safety nets.
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5431/57120469.jpg
There has also been a swelling chorus for reform of a household registration system (Hukou system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hukou_system) 户口) that prevents China's roughly 230 million poor migrant workers from gaining residency in areas other than their hometown.
This denies them access to public services such as unemployment and health insurance, and free public schooling for their children, forcing many to use precious savings to pay for them.
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/3405/68c91bf711.jpg
Housing prices will no doubt be at the top of the agenda at the 11th CPPCC National Committee meeting. Nearly 50 percent of proposals to this year's Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) session are related to the housing sector, a key economic driving force that has fueled growing concern of a property bubble.
CPPCC member Pan Qingling told the China Securities Wednesday that housing prices in Beijing have surpassed those of Tokyo. Housing prices surged 9.5 percent from a year earlier in January, the fastest pace of growth in 19 months attributing the rise to record bank lending of 9.6 trillion yuan and favorable tax breaks.
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/3599/47309477.jpg
A Chinese woman begs with her child on the streets of Shanghai
http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/1926/14916102.jpg
A woman rides past a luxury Porsche sportscar in Shanghai