Wen meets IOC President Rogge

BEIJING—Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge here on Wednesday.
Wen expressed gratitude to the IOC and Rogge for their valuable support to the preparations of the Beijing Olympic Games and admiration for the contribution he had made to the development of the Olympic Movement and the enhancement of mutual understanding and peace among people from different countries and regions. Wen said that the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games would be a great event for the people from the world and the Beijing 2008 torch relay is being held all over the world.
He added that the Olympic Flame is a symbol of peace, friendship, advancement and brightness, representing the common pursuits and wishes of the mankind for the bright future and we believed that the Olympic flame, which belongs to all mankind, would never extinguish. Wen said that the Chinese government and the 1.3 billion Chinese people would work hard in all aspects of preparations for the Beijing Olympic Games, enhance cooperation with the international society and make sure China could successfully stage a high level Olympic Games with distinctive features and fulfill China’s commitments to the world.
Rogge said that since their last meeting in 2006, excellent work has been done by BOCOG. He also said that China will be ready for the Games and it was the right decision to award the Games to Beijing in 2001. Rogge expressed hope that Beijing 2008 torch relay will go on in a peaceful and smooth way. And he believes that the Chinese government has the ability to appropriately solve issues that have appeared recently.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has pledged that his government will extend further support to poor areas inhabited by ethnic minority people. “All ethnic groups form one big family. We must be united and help each other, to prosper and make progress together,” Wen told a group of Jingpo nationality farmers during a visit to the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province.
Wen’s trip to Yunnan from March 31 to April 1 took place after he attended the third Summit of the Greater Mekong Subregion held in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Yunnan has the largest number of ethnic minority groups among all Chinese regions. \ Wen told farmers in Dai, Jingpo and De’ang villages that his new cabinet has decided to increase rural spending by 25 billion yuan (3.5 billion U.S. dollars).
Government shall also increase subsidies for cereal growing and farming machines as well as the minimum state purchasing prices for rice and wheat, Wen said in a Dai village, greeting local farmers in Dai language. At the Santaishan Jingpo village, farmer Ding Kongdao told Wen that although he no longer worries about food and basic medical care, cash income is still hard to make being in such a remote mountainous village.
The Premier said villagers should be relocated to places where life is easier and that small water conservation projects should be built to water crops. He also suggested that farmers should also grow cash crops such as coffee and banana in addition to rice and sugar cane. Local governments should also help them find jobs in cities.
In a De’ang nationality village at the foot of a mountain, Premier Wen met Yao Lateng in his new house. When he learnt that Yao married a Han girl, Wen shook hands with the couple and said, “This is unity among ethnic groups.” The village was relocated to a flat place near national highway302 from a nearby mountain five years ago, with special government funding to help ethnic minority groups.
Wen urged local officials to make education their top priority, saying that education is the foundation for people to improve their life. Wen also hosted a small meeting attended by a dairy farmer, a school master and a countryside doctor, among others, to solicit their opinions of government work.

—Xinhua