2006 National People's Congress - Wen Jiabao's Government Report

Wen Jiabao's Government Report

Premier Wen Jiabao delivered the PRC government's 2006 Working Report on the morning of March 5 at the Great Hall of the People. It was nationally televised on four CCTV channels and other networks. The report was around two hours in length. The three sections of the report outlined the government's workings in 2005, the direction the government was planning for the new year, and a brief outline of China's 11th Five-Year Plan. Agriculture and the "Three Rural Issues" policy was emphasized throughout the speech, as was the concept of "Governing for the People" (执政为民). Wen heavily emphasized helping the poor and relieving the wealth gap. Wen announced that agricultural taxes levied regularly on peasants would be fully abolished in 2007. On the issue of health, Wen stressed the need to prevent an avian influenza-related epidemic, and warned people to be cautious of the outbreak and exercise common sense.

Many Chinese political analysts concluded that the report was thorough, detailed, thoughtful, and reached out to the people. Western media outlets were mostly neutral on the issue. It was considered to have contained fewer political overtones than in previous years. Although Wen's speech was met with frequent applause, the longest applause came during Wen's mention of the firm stance against Taiwan independence. Wen favoured peaceful re-unification, but stated that the Chinese government will not back down should Taiwanese authorities go "too far", as has been his position for the previous two years.