Social Stability - 124. page

On April 3, 2012, Zhejiang Province reported two H7N9 bird flu cases with one death, bringing the total number of H7N9 bird flu cases in China to nine with three deaths. According to local authorities, no epidemiological connection between the two Zhejiang cases has been found.

On April 2, Jiangsu Province reported four H7N9 bird flu cases with all four patients in critical conditions. The local authorities stated that there is no epidemiological connection between these four cases. Earlier, both Shanghai, and Anhui Province reported a total of three cases with two fatalities.

Source: Huanqiu, April 3, 2012
http://china.huanqiu.com/local/2013-04/3796213.html
http://china.huanqiu.com/local/2013-04/3792565.html

China.com, a website sponsored by the State Council Information Office, issued a report on the 2013 budgets that the Beijing Public Security Bureau and the Transportation Bureau published. The report stated that the total 2013 budget for the Beijing Public Security Bureau was over 3.8 billion yuan (US$610 million). Of that money, 3.2 billion yuan (US$520 million) was allocated to “public safety.” That figure represents an increase of 18.5 percent from the 2.7 billion yuan (US$430 million) that was allocated for 2012.

Hu Jia, an activist from Beijing told RFA that China has never been transparent about its spending on the military and on public safety and the situation in China has worsened compared with last year. Hu said that a politically empowered interest group makes this investment in maintaining public safety in order to maintain its monopoly on power. That group is the “Politics and Law Committee,” the group that Zhou Yongkang used to head. Hu stated, "The ‘Politics and Law Committee’ is not a state organ but rather a Party agency. … Zhou stepped down four months ago, but we felt that the situation in China worsened during the recent Lianghui (two meetings: the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference) compared with the 18th National Congress last year.”

Wang Juntao, a Chinese dissident currently living in the U.S., believes that many people in China have hope that the new leadership will bring change to China, but based on what has happened so far, the new leadership is more or less trying to continue the old policy from Deng, Jiang, and Hu, which means to continue the policy of maintaining stability.

Source: Radio Free Asia, March 22, 2013
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/jz-03222013154114.html

Wang Jingwu, a member of the National People’s Congress and Director of the People’s Bank of China, Guangzhou Branch, commented [during the 2013 National People’s Congress], "Today’s kids all want to be government leaders or officials. Those who want to become a scientist are few and far between." 

Based on the statistics from the China Research Center on Aging, 30 percent of young people in urban China live with their parents; over 65 percent of families have the problem of relying financially on seniors for their living.

Source: Guangming, March 12, 2013
http://politics.gmw.cn/2013-03/12/content_6980725.htm

Wu Bangguo, Chairman and Party Secretary of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, recently spoke at the National People’s Congress. Wu said that the parties from various social groups called for Internet control management and for employing harsh measures against online crimes. Wu stated that the People’s Congress has implemented an Internet user identification system and has played a key role in safeguarding the stability of China.

Internet users had mixed reactions to Wu’s speech. Some favored Wu’s speech while others questioned it. One posting on the Ten Cent micro blog asked, “What does it mean that the central administration will employ Internet management? They will not allow us to speak up.” Another posting asked, “Wu’s statement said that parties from ‘various social groups’ are calling for Internet management. What does ‘various social groups’ refer to?” One posting advised, “We should consider studying the advanced Internet management technology from North Korea.”

Source: BBC Chinese, March 8, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/03/130308_wubangguo_internet.shtml

Xinhua carried an article on the increased tension between doctors and patients. The topic had been brought up during the meeting the delegates from the medical field held at the National People’s Congress. It was reported that one study conducted among 30 hospitals in the eastern part of China suggested that only 10 percent of patients trust their doctors. The statistics released by the Department of Health suggested that, from 2006 to 2010, the number of violent incidents that resulted from medical disputes increased by 70 percent. Among those, 70 percent of the incidents were due to a lack of communication and a heart of caring between doctors and patients.

According to the article, a poor and high risk work environment has caused some doctors and medical school students to give up their medical practice. The investigation suggested that close to 80 percent of the doctors “would discourage their children from going to medical school.” Among the existing medical students in the medical schools in Beijing, only 50 percent are willing to practice clinical medicine.

The article said that in order to reduce the work load in the hospitals in urban regions, the central administration has initiated medical reforms and has invested over 60 trillion yuan (US$9.65 trillion) to support the hospitals and clinics in rural towns and counties. The results were not significant. The delegates called for reform in a number of areas to ease the tension.

Source: Xinhua, March 9, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/health/2013-03/09/c_124436141.htm

Data from the National Population and Family Planning Commission reported that the sex ratio (M/F) at birth in China has remained high for more than 30 years. Since 2009, however, the ratio has seen four consecutive years of decline. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2012, the sex ratio at birth in China fell to 117.7 newborn boys to every 100 baby girls, from a high of 121.20 in 2004.