China Outlines Plan to Address Economic Troubles

Chen Xiwen, director of the office of the central leading group on rural work, outlined at a press conference on Monday new strategies for dealing with worker unrest in China. China’s economic downturn has left 26 million migrant workers unemployed. From The Washington Post:

In the event of a mass protest, local officials should go to the “front line,” and not hide behind the police, which only triggers an escalation of conflict, said Chen Xiwen …

To lessen the threat to stability, officials must also do more to solve land disputes, environmental problems and resettlement issues before they spiral into demonstrations, Chen said at a news conference Monday. Party leaders have been pressed to show that they care about the countryside, where prices for agricultural products have been falling and a widening wealth gap between urban and rural incomes has reached the equivalent of $1,620, $200 more than in 2007.