Premier Wen Jiabao Wednesday called for stepping up national efforts to build a harmonious society, saying employment, social security, poverty reduction, education, medical care, environmental protection and safety will be given priority.

Wen made the appeal in his explanation about the Proposal on the 11th Five-year Guidelines at the Fifth Session of the 16th CPC (Communist Party of China) Central Committee last week.

He said that employment will remain a tough issue for a long period of time to come, so China has to carry out pro-active employment policies and try every means to create job opportunities.

On social security, the premier called for further making efforts to improve the insurance system of pension, basic medical care, unemployment, industrial injuries and birth, to earnestly resolve the social security issue for migrant farmer workers in cities, and to set up a security system of minimum living standards for rural areas.

Wen meanwhile urged efforts to readjust the income distribution in a proper way to narrow the income gap among different regions and social groups and to achieve social equality.

Other important tasks for building a harmonious society in the coming five years include greatly developing education and lifting the educational level of the nationals, enriching the public's spiritual and cultural life, improving medical services across the country, and safeguarding the life and property of the people, Wen said.

According to Wen, the State Council will make the draft of the Eleventh Five-year Program based on the proposal. The draft will be reviewed at the National People's Congress session next March.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2005)