2) We strengthened oversight of solving problems affecting people's wellbeing. Ensuring and improving people's wellbeing is an inherent requirement for applying the Scientific Outlook on Development and the ultimate goal of our economic development. Deputies to the NPC and members of the Standing Committee attach great importance to this issue. The Standing Committee listened to and deliberated 11 special work reports by the State Council, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate last year, six of which directly related to problems of deep concern to the people and affected their wellbeing. Last year we carried out three investigations of compliance with laws and all three directly concerned problems affecting people's wellbeing.

We strengthened follow-up oversight in a variety of ways to promote the comprehensive, balanced, and sustainable development of employment and social security programs. First, the NPC Chairperson's Council decided to have the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee make follow-up inspections after we heard and deliberated the State Council's report on developing the social security system in rural areas in April, and the Standing Committee heard and deliberated the report on follow-up inspections at its December meeting. Second, having investigated compliance with the Labor Contract Law in 2008, last year we heard and deliberated the State Council's reports on reforming and developing vocational education and promoting employment and reemployment. Third, in light of new circumstances and new problems arising as a result of the global financial crisis, last year we carried out a new round of inspections on compliance with the Trade Union Law last year on the basis of the compliance investigations we carried out in 2004. While fully affirming the positive progress achieved in these areas, members of the Standing Committee also made the following comments and suggestions. First, we need to increase government funding for social security in rural areas, establish a stable funding mechanism for rural social security, constantly improve the rural social security system in accordance with the principle of taking all factors into consideration, work hard to extend the new type of rural old-age insurance system to all rural residents, and promptly solve the problems of transferring basic old-age pension accounts for rural migrant workers moving from one region to another and providing social security for landless rural residents. Second, we need to conscientiously implement a more active employment policy; do our utmost to expand employment and promote reemployment, with the focus on college graduates, rural migrant workers, and the needy; further strengthen training in vocational skills; set up a sound mechanism to ensure funding for vocational education; and gradually make secondary vocational education free. Third, we need to make full use of the role of trade unions in safeguarding workers' legitimate rights and interests and keeping labor relationships stable, and promptly set up a wage negotiation mechanism with the participation of workers, a mechanism for regular pay increases, and a mechanism to ensure wages are paid on time.

In June 2009, the Standing Committee made special arrangements to hear and deliberate the State Council's report on recovery and reconstruction following the devastating earthquake that hit Wenchuan, Sichuan Province. Members of the Standing Committee fully endorsed the work done in the first stage of post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction and approved the work plan for the next stage. We emphasized that we need to put people's wellbeing first, stay firmly rooted in the specific conditions of areas devastated by the earthquake, have long-term development in mind, ensure quality and results, improve our planning and policies, and steadily press ahead with the recovery and reconstruction work. We need to put our efforts into building housing for quake-affected urban and rural residents, especially those with severe difficulties; intensify the recovery and reconstruction work on public facilities such as schools and medical and health institutions as well as infrastructure such as transport and water conservancy facilities; and quickly build the quake-stricken area into a desirable homeland where people live and work in peace and enjoy social harmony and prosperity.

Food safety is vital to people's health and lives and has drawn widespread attention from deputies to the NPC and all sectors of society. The Standing Committee attaches great importance to work in this area. Shortly after the Law on Food Safety was passed in February 2009, the Standing Committee began to check compliance with it throughout China and urged relevant departments to promptly formulate, sort out or improve supporting regulations, quickly draw up sound food safety standards, set up a risk monitoring and assessment mechanism for food safety, further improve the oversight and supervision system, strengthen food safety oversight capabilities, exercise scientific oversight and supervision of food from production to sale, and strive to improve the food safety situation. In addition, we checked compliance with the Stockbreeding Law and made important suggestions concerning preventing and controlling animal diseases, preventing drastic fluctuations in the price of livestock products, focusing on regulating the use of clenobuterol hydrochloride and sulfa-drug additives, supporting safe disposal of infected livestock and poultry, and the full utilization of resources.

In order to promote justice in the judicial system and ensure social fairness, every year the Standing Committee focuses on major problems of common concern to the people and strengthens oversight of the work of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate. In response to such problems as the difficulty of ensuring compliance with court decisions and dereliction of duty, infringements of rights, and criminal acts by employees of state organs, last year the Standing Committee heard and deliberated the report of the Supreme People's Court on strengthening the enforcement of civil law, maintaining authority in the legal system and justice in the judicial system, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate's report on strengthening procuratorial work regarding dereliction of duty and infringements of rights, promoting government administration in accordance with the law, and impartial justice. Members of the NPC Standing Committee gave a positive appraisal of the Supreme People's Court's and the Supreme People's Procuratorate's willingness to submit to the oversight of the NPC and their efforts to effectively clear long-pending cases of law enforcement and improve their work, and expressed the hope that courts and procuratorates at all levels would carry out judicial and procuratorial work for the people's benefit; improve the quality of judicial and procuratorial workers; intensify institutional improvements; standardize judicial and procuratorial actions; make greater efforts to enforce civil law and investigate and prosecute cases of dereliction of duty, infringements of rights, and criminal acts; safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of concerned parties; and ensure criminal behavior is prosecuted in accordance with the law.