From The Washington Post:
The Communist Party vowed Friday to spread the benefits of economic growth more fairly among all levels of Chinese society, seeking particularly to close the wide income gap between farmers and city dwellers.
The pledge, issued by the Politburo, the country’s top policymaking body, was seen in part as a response to growing unrest, particularly in small towns and villages, by peasants who say they have been left out of the economic boom that has transformed China over the past two decades.
“In the next five years, China should pay more attention to social fairness and democracy and earnestly solve the problems closely related to the people’s interests,” said a statement relayed by the government’s New China News Agency. “Development of economy and society, of cities and the countryside, and of different regions, should be more balanced and harmonious in the 2006-2010 period.”
