China commended personnel and groups that have made great contributions to family planning at a ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People Wednesday.
At the ceremony, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji and other senior government officials presented awards to 431 personnel and representatives from 110 counties.
Meanwhile, the Fifth National Conference of the Family Planning Association of China (FPAC) also opened.
FPAC has played an important role in the country's family planning since its establishment in 1980, said Jiang Chunyun, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, at the conference's opening ceremony.
Jiang urged FPAC to have a fresh start in the new century, adding that more effort should be made to improve the work standards of grass-root associations and to further expand international exchanges and cooperation.
FPAC has more than one million associations, with a membership of over 80 million.
(Xinhua 12/06/2000)
