BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhuanet) -- For Tian Ping, a female from central China's Henan province, one of the stories she most wants to tell her now two-year-old baby when he grew up is about the Spring Festival eve in 2005. In the story, the grandpa who held him in arms is the premier of China.
Undoubtedly, Wen's visit to Tian's family on that eve, which was broadcast nationwide, had not only warmed the hearts of millions from the lowest levels of the Chinese society, but also draw closer the distance between the nation's leaders and the common people.
"I would consider that what the premier held in his arms is thekids from millions of poor families." said Zhao Yang, a farmer from the Qixian county of Henan, "At that moment, we felt as if the State leaders were just beside us."
China's per capita income has passed 1,000 US dollars, but many rural families are yet living in poverty, including those from a remote village of Bouyei ethnic group in southwest Guizhou Province.
At the same eve, Chinese President Hu Jintao spent his night with the villagers out there rather than with the members of his Beijing-based family. He instructed local officials to help reducepoverty in the mountainous region mainly populated by ethnic minorities.
Delivering festival greetings to the poor is part of the "People First" governance strategy that is promoted by the Chinese government with all efforts. In the past years, China's State leaders had managed to spare as much time as possible to live for days with the poor to collect their comments and feelings.
"Following the leaders' examples, local governments have also shifted more and more efforts to help solve problems concerning the interests of the common people, especially the weak groups." said Wei Haixia, a student from the China's Central Party School.
According to the thousands-year-old governance concept, the common people should be put at places more important than State leaders, which had helped the country embraced dozens of prosperous periods in its history.
And now, China is re-promoting the ancient concept in the Chinese society and among government officials of different levels.
Compared with years ago, the contents of the government working meetings of Qixian county are more and more focusing to common farmers. "In fact, we are just following the examples of the central government leaders," said a local official.
With the nuts and bolts of China's governance capability enhancing plan getting clear, more and more Chinese find they havefound new ways available to support or protect their own benefits.
To date, 26 of all of China's 31 provincial-level governments have exempted rural taxes and hence some more than 730 million Chinese farmers are expected to bid farewell to their "rural taxes" history.
In 2004, the country's some 900 million farmers realized their largest income growth in seven years. At the same time, a nationwide campaign helped migrant workers get some 33.1 billion yuan worth of back pay.
"It's the government's unswerving stance that made it possible for the migrant workers to do that." said Wei, "What they get, to some degree, is not only money, but also justice and fairness."
An earlier Internet-based survey by Xinhua indicated that the issues concerning common people's life will be top on the list of proposals and motions that will be handled during the sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee ofthe Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Xiao Zhuoji, an economist with the Beijing University and deputy to the CPPCC National Committee, had prepared two motions for the session, one of which exploring ways on how to improve theliving standards of those who are stricken by poverty.
"For the sake of our 900 million farmers, I will suggest the government to set up an rural-oriented insurance system," said MaoFengmei, a delegate to the CPC session. Enditem
