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Beijing increases input in public social services
BEIJING, October 17) -- Beijing has sustained
an annual increase in its input into public social services to
some 4 billion yuan (about $533 million) in 2007 from 3.2
billion yuan (about $427 million) last year, according to an
official of the Municipal Commission of Development and Reform.
The investment tilts towards rural areas, the weak social
groups and urban communities, with a focus on improving the
living conditions of ordinary people, said Liang Changxin,
member of the commission.
Explaining the policies, Liang said part of the public money
goes to a plan to build medical centers and stations in some
3,300 communities to solve the problem of scarce medical
facilities and expensive drugs, and compulsory education in the
villages. In the cultural field, the government is allocating
money to make TV broadcast available for every household in the
city of 15 million residents by 2010.
To transfer quality educational and medical resources to
rural areas, the government has encouraged renowned universities
and hospitals to set up branches in Beijing's rural areas and
transfer their management skills and software resources to
upgrade rural facilities and send doctors among ordinary people.
Furthermore, Beijing has channeled its public service
investment in developing new towns like Tongzhou, Yizhuang and
others, he told a press conference at the
Beijing Olympic Media Center on Wednesday.
"We spent 290 million yuan (close to $40 million) in cultural
public services this year to add equipment to the city's large
cultural squares for the next year's Olympic Games, buy new
movable film projection vehicles to meet the demand of rural
villages and subsidize the art performances of professional
troupes for farmers and community residents," said Vice-Director
of Beijing Culture Bureau Wang Zhu.
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