Anti-corruption ranked the hottest word among Chinese citizens for the upcoming annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), also referred as the "two sessions", according to a survey conducted by People's Daily online.

The second session of the 13th NPC and the second session of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC are scheduled to be kicked off on March 5 and 3 respectively.

The rule of law and social security were respectively the second and the third terms of greatest public concern, said the survey which started on Feb. 12 and ended on Feb. 27, covering a total of 4.4 million people.

Anti-corruption topping the list

Anti-corruption has always been a hot topic among the public. It topped public concerns eight times during the past 17 years.

Over the last year, China has established supervision systems at the national, provincial, municipal and county levels. It further improved the working style of the CPC, intensifying efforts to curb formalism and bureaucracy.

The CPC Central Committee unswervingly pushed forward comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, and kept a tough stance against corruption. Its performance received high attention from the Chinese society.

Rule of law receiving high attention

The approval of the constitutional amendment, the campaign to fight against gang crime, as well as the implementation of the law to protect the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs all received wide attention from the Chinese citizens in the last year.

Many people believe that the government is becoming more transparent, and the functional departments are acting more efficiently.

Social security ranking at third place

Social security concerns the practical interests of hundreds of millions of people, so it has always been a focus of public attention.

The survey showed that the improvement of medical insurance and basic pensions, and the optimization of the transfer and continuation of social insurance relations were a focus of the Chinese citizens in 2018.

Some suggested that China make efforts to develop home- and community-based care services, improve subsistence allowance and enhance the care for impoverished children.

China achieving outstanding performance in poverty alleviation

According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, a total of 13.86 million people in rural areas were lifted out of poverty in 2018. By the end of last year, the impoverished rural population stood at 16.6 million, with an overall poverty rate declining to 1.7 percent.

The noble cause of poverty alleviation was among the top ten most concerning topics amongst the public. However, some people hold that efforts are still needed in targeting and capital supervision.

"Internet plus government service" enhancing sense of gain

"Internet plus government service" is a newly added topic in this year's survey. So far, it is ranking the sixth on the list.

In recent years, local governments have been enhancing their efforts to promote "Internet plus government service", in a bid to strengthen information sharing and optimize procedures for government affairs.

Online platforms providing traffic violation inquiry and housing pension inquiry services have reached over half of Chinese internet users, the survey indicated.

Ecological protection remaining a buzzword

Ecological protection is the 10th hottest word in this year's survey, as many respondents said they were breathing better air and seeing less garbage on the streets over the last year.

In recent years, China has made huge efforts to make the sky bluer, the water clearer and the air cleaner, thereby receiving wide applause from society.