In the run-up to the national congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), many Chinese have used chat rooms, online surveys, and letters and calls to voice their expectations, and they deem it will set the tone for future development.

Restraining the power of officials, curbing corruption, improving the people's living standard and narrowing wealth gap are the top four concerns of the Chinese polled by the xinhuanet.com. Other issues that draw broad attention include political reform, Taiwan issue, rural poverty, sustainability of economic growth, and judicial justice.

Another parallel survey on the country's achievements reveals that the Chinese have been mostly impressed by the appointment of non-Communist personages to take charge of governmental departments, which political observers hail as a noticeable sign of the CPC's increasing openness. Likely, the new concepts of “scientific outlook on development" and "harmonious society" have sparked a package of policies to benefit the needy who used to be tossed out of the economic boom.

Apart from the achievements China has made and the applauses for the country's soaring economic strength, the respondents are least satisfied about energy conservation, rural poverty alleviation, lack of job opportunity and the use of taxation and fiscal policies to readjust economy.

As the CPC National Congress is scheduled to open on Monday, there are worries over the country's sizzling growth, such as widening wealth gap and deteriorating environment. People are wondering how the Party is going to steer the world's most populous country into prosperity.

A bulletin board themed "Get words off your chest to the Party" on the people.com.cn sponsored by the CPC's mouthpiece People's Daily reveals the ardent expectations of the public for the Party congress.

A lion's share of more than 7,000 messages from colleague students, village heads, teachers, wage earners and employees of governmental departments are directly addressed to Hu Jintao, urging the general secretary of the CPC Central Committee to take "uncompromising measures" to get rid of corrupted CPC members who abuse their power and provide more conduits for the grass-roots people to lodge their complaints against the government so as to enhance the cohesive force of the country.

Farmer Liu Aisheng from Youxian County of central China's Hunan Province has posted a letter to the State Bureau of Letters and Calls, an outfit for public complaints, counting on the Party congress to bring more blessing to the people.

"As a grassroots delegate, I feel more responsibility and honor, " said Wang Xiulian, secretary of the Communist Party Committee of Cuandixia Village of Beijing. China's rural areas have witnessed drastic changes thanks to rising capital input from the government, but many farmers still have difficulty in accessing public services, especially transportation, water supply and medicare, she said.

Delegate Li Liancheng from Puyang City of Henan Province said he would faithfully pass the voices of the people to the CPC central authorities and bring back home the guidelines of the Party.

(Xinhua News Agency October 14, 2007)