Vice-Premier Wu Yi Appointed Chinese Health Minister

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, April 28, 2003

Vice-Premier Wu Yi Appointed Chinese Health Minister

Vice-Premier Wu Yi was appointed Saturday to serve concurrently as the Minister of Health, replacing Zhang Wenkang, who had submitted his resignation.

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China's top legislature Saturday appointed Vice-Premier Wu Yi as Minister of Health to replace Zhang Wenkang, who asked to resign last weekend.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress overwhelmingly passed Wu's appointment with 137 in favor, one against and 10 abstentions.

Premier Wen Jiabao, on behalf of the State Council, proposed the replacement to the NPC Standing Committee.

Another proposal of the State Council, which will enable China's new banking regulatory body, the Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), to take over the regulatory powers of the People's Bank of China, China's central bank, was also ratified at the meeting.

The establishment of CBRC is part of a government restructuring plan adopted by the 10th NPC last month at its first session, to tighten financial supervision, ensure the safe, stable and efficient operation of China's financial institutions and strengthen their ability to deal with financial risks.

Li Guoguang was removed from the post of vice-president of the Supreme People's Court and member of the court's Judicial Committee at the meeting. The lawmakers also appointed several newjudges, procurators and ambassadors.

Three international pacts including good neighborly and friendship treaties with Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, and a cooperative pact with Kazakhstan on the fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism, were also ratified at the session.

NPC Standing Committee Chairman Wu Bangguo, who presided over the meeting, delivered a speech at the meeting.

Wu Bangguo said the major task of the 10th NPC was to lay out afive-year legislative plan as well as an annual plan in the effort to basically build a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics within its term.

Priority should be given to the proposed laws which are urgent, fundamental and entering a mature stage for legislation, the chairman said.

Proposed laws, which are essential to China's legal system, yet not mature, could be realized through administrative regulations or postponed, the NPC Standing Committee chairman said.

Wu Bangguo also emphasized the importance of the NPC Standing Committee's supervision function. The NPC Standing Committee should attach great importance to supervision over the key issues related with China's economic reform, development and stability, he said.

In addition, the chairman said, supervision should also focus on the immediate and difficult problems closely related with the lives of the Chinese people, such as, epidemic disease control, re-employment, high education fees and financial burdens of farmers.

To contain severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Wu Bangguo called on all the lawmakers to join with the central government tofight against the disease.

He stressed the necessity of tightening supervision of the enforcement of the law on prevention of infectious diseases, saying the NPC Standing Committee could improve its supervision network over law enforcement through the fight against SARS.

The chairman concluded that he believed Chinese people would conquer all difficulties and win the hard battle against SARS withthe joint efforts of all sectors.

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