Chinese Vice-President Zeng Qinghong has called on officials to speed up development of rural areas, during his four-day inspection tour to the southern island province of Hainan.

Zeng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau, visited schools, firms, the countryside, and urban communities, during his tour April 17-20.

He asked local CPC cadres and government officials to pay close attention to environmental protection while leading the island province to prosperous development based on tropical agriculture and tourism.

Zeng also paid a visit to Qiaonan village, Zhanzhou city, where he praised the efforts to construct a civilized and ecology-friendly countryside.

He ordered local CPC cadres to maintain the progressive nature of the Communist Party of China and to resolve problems affecting the people's immediate interests, especially in areas of employment, medical care, education, and social security.

(Xinhua News Agency April 21, 2006)