Jia Qinglin, chairman of China's top political advisory body, said during his recent trip to Hubei Province, "The organization and united front organizations of the country must work actively to build a socialist harmonious society.

"We have unshirkable responsibilities and unique advantages to promote the process," said Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), during the trip made from Nov. 15 to 20.

Jia, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party (CPC) of China Central Committee, called the notion of "building a socialist harmonious society" a major strategic task raised by the Party that has bearings on China's overall social and economic development.

"It's also a major task that calls for the concerted efforts of the whole Party and society," he said.

Jia said united front and CPPCC organizations should steadfastly promote development of the country, now the primary task of these organizations, to lay a solid foundation for the building of a harmonious society.

In addition, they should unite all forces that can be united to jointly work for the building of the harmonious society and help the Party and government to smooth out conflicts and emotions.

The trip brought Jia to factories, rural towns and colleges and the site of the Three Gorges Dam.

When visiting the Three Gorges Dam, Jia urged handling the relocation of former residents properly and gradually improving their life standards and ensuring the safety of the Three Gorges dam and people's lives and property.

The Fourth Plenum of the 16th CPC Central Committee, held in September, raised the notion of building a socialist harmonious society.

(Xinhua News Agency November 22, 2004)