Harmonious Society (和諧社會(huì)) is a concept raised by the Chinese government (Hu-Wen Administration) during the 10th Annual meeting of the Chinese National People's Congress in March of 2005.
The top Chinese leadership held a series of meetings at the Diaoyutai State Guest House on the eve of the NPC to thrash out an approach to the country’s mounting social problems.The conclusion was the need for a new ideological campaign to shift the focus of official rhetoric from “economic growth” to “social harmony”.
President Hu Jintao launched the campaign with a speech to the NPC calling for the building of “a harmonious society”.He summed up his conception as the development of “democracy,the rule of law,justice,sincerity,amity and vitality” as well as a better relationship between the people and the government and “between man and nature”.
Behind these high-sounding ideas are a corresponding list of social problems:the lack of democratic rights,endemic official corruption,a huge and growing gulf between rich and poor,widening disparities between rural and urban areas as well as chronic unemployment,an appalling record of industrial disasters and severe pollution.The failure of Beijing to address any of these issues has provoked escalating protests.
In his speech,Premier Wen Jiabao promised to spend 10.9 billion yuan ($US1.3 billion) on the “re-employment” of millions of laid-off workers and another 3 billion yuan to improve industrial safety,especially in the country’s coal mines.He pledged to abolish central government’s agricultural tax on 730 million farmers and provide education subsidies for poor rural children.
Wen specifically referred to the 140 million rural migrant workers who form the backbone of China’s cheap labour force.“A mechanism will be promptly set up to ensure migrant workers in cities get paid on time and in full,and the work of getting their back wages paid to them will be continued,” he said.Official estimates put the backlog of unpaid wages as high as $US12 billion.