Water pollution, laborers’ rights top NPC list

BEIJING—Control of water pollution and protection of laborers’ legitimate rights and interests will be given priority on the supervision list of China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), this year.
The NPC Standing Committee will hear and deliberate the special work reports of the State Council, or the cabinet, on progress in efforts to prevent and control water pollution, and inspect the implementation of the environmental impact assessment law this year, promoting efforts to conserve energy and reduce emissions, top legislator Wu Bangguo said on Saturday.
Wu, chairman of the 10th NPC Standing Committee, made the remarks while delivering a report on his committee’s work over the past five years.
“We must...fully implement the law on oversight and put the focus of oversight on serious problems that affect overall reform, development and stability, that have an impact on social harmony and that cause great resentment among the masses,” Wu said while outlining the major tasks of the NPC Standing Committee for this year.
In addition to making laws, the NPC’s oversight of the State Council, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate is another important duty and power granted to the NPC and its Standing Committee by the Constitution and laws.
“We need to truly protect the lawful rights and interests of workers and ensure the healthy growth of children by inspecting the implementation of the labor contract law, the compulsory education law and the law on the protection of minors,” Wu told nearly 3,000 legislators at the ongoing NPC annual session.
The NPC Standing Committee will also promote the building of a new socialist countryside by hearing and deliberating the State Council’s report on promoting steady increase in farmers’ incomes and by inspecting the implementation of the law on specialized farmer cooperatives, Wu said. China will take tangible measures to save energy and cut pollution in 2008, Li Pumin, the spokesman for the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said in an interview posted on the Chinese www.gov.cn website on Saturday.
“The country will continue eliminating outdated production facilities, including small thermal power generating units with a combined capacity of 13 million kilowatts, and facilities with 50 million tonnes of cement, 6 million tonnes of steel and 14 million tonnes of iron,” said Li.
To protect the environment and save energy, China had shut down 29.4 million tonnes of outdated iron smelting capacity and 15.21 million tonnes of outdated steel smelting capacity as of the end of November.
“The government will make full use of tax, fiscal and financial policies to push forward energy-saving and pollution-cutting goals,” added Li.
China’s top five banks offered loans of more than 100 billion yuan (14.08 billion U.S. dollars) last year to support companies’ environmental plans. The country is also levying a full consumption tax on refined fuel oil and three other oil products retroactively from Jan. 1.
Li added that the government would continue carrying out the “Top 1,000 Enterprise Energy Efficiency Action Plan” in 2008.
Last September, the NDRC launched the plan, which required the 1,000 largest domestic enterprises in iron and steel, petrochemical and other sectors to meet global energy efficiency requirements and save 100 million tonnes of standard coal by 2010. ˇˇ
He said the country would implement 10 major energy-saving projects, including enhancing the efficiency of low-efficiency industrial boilers, improved energy-saving programs for oil refining, iron and steel companies and wider use of combined heat and power (CHP) systems.
The government would also step up pollution control in major river valleys, lakes and regions, including the Huaihe River, Taihu Lake and the Three Gorges Project area.—Xinhua
After hearing from a deputy from Dingxi, Gansu, Wen said, “I am concerned with the potato business in Dingxi. Potato there, big in size and having few eyes, is fit for French fries. You must make good use of it.” Joining deliberations with the lawmakers from the delegation of eastern Zhejiang Province, Li Changchun underlined the importance of training high-caliber personnel to greatly boost the country’s cultural development.
“We should create favorable environment in the society to encourage their enthusiasm, willingness and creativity to produce more cultural works of excellence,” Li said. Xi Jinping, who joined the delegation of northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, urged the local government to give prominence to building resource-conserving, environment-friendly society in the process of industrialization and modernization.—Xinhua