Posted: 27 February 2011 1001 hrs
BEIJING - Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao pledged on Sunday to tackle public concerns such as
inflation, runaway growth, and corruption in an apparent bid to defuse a
call for weekly rallies in 13 cities.
Answering questions from
Internet users in a web chat, Wen addressed a range of top national
concerns worrying the government, which has watched as similar issues
touched off political convulsions in the Middle East and North Africa.
"The
purpose of our economic development is to meet the people's growing
material and cultural needs, and make the lives of commoners better and
better," Wen said.
He spoke after a mysterious online appeal
urged people to come out and press China's one-party communist rulers
for government transparency, free expression and to address other public
worries each Sunday at 2pm (0600GMT).
Citizens have been urged
to gather for subtle "strolling" protests at designated sites in 13
cities, but the appeal made no call for overt political action.
At
least 300 uniformed police guarded the entrance to the nominated
protest site in central Beijing on Sunday, in the Wangfujing shopping
street, but there was no sign of demonstrations.
Half an hour after the appointed time, police started clearing the area.
An
AFP reporter earlier saw a line of military-style transport trucks
heading in the direction of the area, emblazoned with banners calling
for the maintenance of stability.
Authorities also earlier
erected giant blue barricades in front of a McDonald's in Wangfujing,
apparently to block access to the designated site.
The area is a
short walk from heavily policed Tiananmen Square, the scene of huge
pro-democracy demonstrations in 1989 that were crushed by the army.
A
week ago, a heavy police presence was put in place in several cities
including Beijing and Shanghai for the first so-called "Jasmine rally"
-- a reference to the Tunisian "Jasmine" revolution.
Last week's events also appeared lightly attended and free of major incident.
The
online protest call seen on overseas Chinese-language websites -- but
blocked by censors within China -- demanded that citizens be empowered
to supervise the secretive government to prevent abuses.
Wen said
the government would respect the people's supervisory rights but he and
other officials have made similar comments before and he gave no
details.
Wen also said the government would ramp up supplies of
housing, crack down on property speculation, ensure output of grains and
other key goods, and punish those who hoard goods.
"Rapid price rises have affected the lives of the people and even social stability," he said.
Chinese
inflation remained near two-year highs in January at 4.9 percent
despite a series of measures taken to dampen price rises, including
three interest rate hikes in the past four months.
Soaring food and housing costs have grabbed the headlines in China, which has a history of inflation-triggered public unrest.
Wen offered no significant new policy measures.
However,
decrying runaway growth that has fuelled price rises and ravaged
China's environment, Wen announced Beijing had set an annual economic
growth target of seven percent for each of the next five years.
The
government target had previously been set each year at eight percent,
saying it was the minimum growth necessary to keep creating jobs and
staving off unrest.
China's economy grew 10.3 percent in 2010,
marking the fastest annual pace since the onset of the global financial
crisis in 2008.
At Wangfujing, two dozen police cars and vans
were stationed near the shopping street's entrance. At least one
armoured riot police vehicle was also present, and officers walked large
police dogs.
The district was crowded with shoppers as it usually is on weekends.
A
police officer stopped an AFP photographer from entering the area,
saying he could not do so with his camera. Reporters were also asked for
their IDs, and some tourists who did not have their passports with them
were turned away.
With the annual session of China's
rubber-stamp parliament set to open next Saturday, authorities have
launched a sharp crackdown in the wake of the Arab unrest and the
Chinese protest call.
Police have levelled subversion charges
against several top activists for spreading the appeal for protests in
China, and many others have been detained or are missing, rights groups
have said.
China's Internet censors have blocked discussion of
the unrest in the Middle East as well as mention of the Chinese "Jasmine
rally" call.
- AFP
George Soros mistimed his revolution liao.........................
won't work this time ........................
when the next massive financial crisis come.......................maybe then can succeed.