In a “state of the nation” speech opening the annual 10-day session of the nation’s rubber-stamp parliament on Saturday, Wen admitted that his government had “not yet fundamentally solved a number of issues that the masses feel strongly about.” These included high consumer and housing prices, “significant problems concerning food safety and rampant corruption”, and people being illegally kicked off their land to make way for unrestrained property development.
China will “effectively solve problems that cause great resentment among the masses,” Wen told the NPC’s nearly 3,000 delegates in his two-hour address at the Great Hall of the People in the heart of Beijing.
“We must therefore have a strong sense of responsibility towards the country and the people and work tirelessly and painstakingly to solve these problems more quickly to the satisfaction of the people,” Wen said. The National People’s Congress convened amid an increase in tension after a similar mix of issues helped spark unrest across the Arab world.