朱总理：刚才，江泽民主席和李鹏委员长所发表的讲话也为本届政府的任务作了具体的规定。

朱彤：As for the tasks of this government, as a mater of fact, in the report delivered to the Fifteenth National Congress of the Communist Party last year, President Jiang Ze-min already identified in very explicit terms, and the speeches of President Jiang Ze-min and the Chairman Li Peng made just now at the closing ceremony of the Netional People's Congress also provided in very specific terms for the tasks for the government.

朱总理：如果你要求我把它说得具体一点的话，那我可以概括一下。就本届政府现在面临着要干的几件事情可以概括为：“一个确保、三个到位、五项改革”。

朱彤：If you expect me to give you some specifics, then I can just make a generalization of the tasks that this government is expected to accomplish. One assurance, three put-into-place and five reforms.

朱总理：“一个确保”就是因为我们当前面临着东南亚的金融危机，中国目前面临严重的挑战。因此，我们必须确保今年中国的发展速度达到8%，中国的通货膨胀必须小于3%，中国的人民币不能贬值。

朱彤：With regard to the first insure as we are now faced with the formidable challenges due to the financial crisis in Southeast Asia, so we must insure that the economic growth rate of China for this year must reach eight percent. And China's inflation must be lower than three percent and China's RMB cannot devaluate.

朱总理：这一点必须做到，因为它不但关系着中国的发展，而且也关系着亚洲的繁荣稳定。

朱彤：This is an objective that we must obtain because that will have a bearing not only on the development of China but also on the prosperity and stability of the entire Asia.

朱总理：我们达到这个目标，我们主要的手段，就是说，提高我们国内的需求。

朱彤：The main means that we will adopt to obtain this objective is to increase domestic demand.

朱总理：由于我们最近几年宏观调控的成功，采取了适当从紧的财政和货币政策，控制了货币的发行，我们的通货膨胀速度很低，通货膨胀的指数很低。因此我们有可能拿出较多的财力来刺激国内的需求。我讲的这个需求就是加强基础设施建设，铁路、公路、农田、水利、市政、环保设施等等方面的建设，加强高新技术的建设，加强现有企业的技术改造，提高国民经济的需求。

朱彤：Thanks to the success in the macro regulation and the control efforts over the past several years and also a moderately tight monetary and fiscal policy that we have adopted, we have effectively controlled the currency issue over the years and the inflation index has been kept at a low level. So, given these good conditions, we have the possibility of channeling more financial resources to stimulate the domestic demand. By stimulating domestic demand, I mean we will increase investment in the construction of infrastructures such as highways, railways, and also the farmland construction and water conservancy facilities and municipal facilities and environmental protection facilities. We are also increasing investment in the high and the new technology industries and in the technical upgrading of the existing enterprises. So, all in all, we are to increase the demand of the whole national economy.

朱总理：当然还有住房建设，我下面还要讲。因为这是中国国民经济的新的增长点。

朱彤：Of course, another important area is the housing development, because that will be a new growth point in China's national economy.

朱总理：什么叫“三个到位”呢？第一个到位就是我们已经确定了我们在三年左右时间里面要使大多数的国有大中型企业摆脱困境，进而建成现代企业制度。就是说，三年必须办好这件事情。

朱彤：By three put-into-place, I mean first put-into-place, that is, we have decided to enable most large and medium-size state-owned enterprises to be lifted from their current difficult situations in about three-year's time, and then to establish a modern enterprise system in these enterprises. That is to say, we must do this job well in three-year's time.

朱总理：第二，我们去年召开了金融工作会议，已经确定要在三年时间里面彻底地改革我们的金融系统，也就是说，中央银行强化监管，商业银行自主经营。这个目标也要在本世纪末实现。

朱彤：Secondly, last year at the national conference on the financial work, a decision was adopted to make thorough reform in China's financial system. That is to say, the central bank of China must increase and step up its supervision and regulation functions, and the commercial banks must operate independently. This objective should also be obtained before the end of this century.

朱总理：第三个到位是政府机构的改革。也就是说，中央政府今年已经在大会上通过了方案，已经把40个部委简化为29个部委，政府机关的人数准备分流一半。这个任务要在三年以内完成。相应的，各级政府也要在三年以内完成。

朱彤：Thirdly, that's concerning the reorganization of the government institutions. According to the program on the reorganization of the institutions of the central government adopted by the current session of the National People's Congress, the number of ministries and commissions under the state consul has been reduced from 40 to 29, and we plan to cut half of the working staff working in the government institutions in three-year's time. And correspondingly, the local governments at various levels are also expected to achieve this reorganization in three-year's time.

朱总理：请大家注意，我讲的三年完成是讲分流出来的这一半的政府机关干部在三年以内都能够分流完成，到达他能够发挥他最大作用的岗位上去。至于分流工作，今年就得完成。也就是说，新政府成立以后，在“三定”方案，即定编制、定职务、定人数，定好了以后，今年这一半人就分流了。但是他到位还需要三年的时间。同志们知道，分流出来的这一半人要经过培训，还要考虑他自己本人的志愿，把他分配到合适的位置上去，这个当然需要比较长的时间。但是政府机构的改革的完成是在今年。

朱彤：I'd like to call your attention here, by three years I'm referring to the redirection of the half of the government functionaries to the posts, to their final posts. But to redirect these people from their original post actually can be completed before the end of this year. You know, after the new government takes office, we will first determine the size and the posts and the number of the new government institutions and, uh, but for the half of these redirected people, to be assigned to their new jobs, to their new posts, it will take three-year's time. As you can understand, they need to be retrained and their own personal wishes should also be taken into account, so that they can be assigned to the posts in which they can best display their competence and their skill, so that will take a fairly long time. But with regard to the reorganization of the government institutions, that can be accomplished within this year.

朱总理：“五项改革”。第一是粮食流通体制的改革。因为中国由于农业改革政策的成功，已经连续三年的丰收，中国的粮食的库存达到历史的最高水平。我可以负责的说，中国再遭两年大灾，自然的灾害，中国的粮食也不会缺乏。

朱彤：With regard to the five reforms, the first reform is the reform in the circulation system of grains. Thanks to the success in the agricultural policy of China, we have had bumper harvests for three consecutive years, so now China's grain reserves have been at the historically high level. I can say in a very responsible manner that if there were to be very serious natural disasters in the coming two years, China would not be short of grain, short of food.

朱总理：但是由于粮食库存的庞大，政府的财政补贴也相应地增加。我们必须针对这个问题进行粮食销售体制的改革。

朱彤：However, given the huge grain reserves, the government subsidies in this regard have to be correspondingly increased, so it's necessary and imperative for us to conduct reform in the marketing system of grains.

朱总理：第二项改革是投资融资体制的改革。因为现行的投资体制主要是行政审批的制度。这个不能贯彻把市场作为资源分配的基础力量，产生了很多的重复建设，必须进行根本的改革，使它能够符合市场经济的国际惯例。

朱彤：Second reform will be the reform in the investment and the financing system. The current investment and financing system is mainly through administrative examination and approval, which cannot bring into play the role, the fundamental role of the market in resource disposition. This has given rise to a lot of duplicated constructions, so we must conduct fundamental reform in this system so that an investment and funding system that is in line with international practice and in line with the requirements of a market economy can be put into place.

朱总理：第三是住房制度的改革。我刚才已经说过，住房的建设将要成为中国经济的新的增长点。但是我们必须要改革现行的这种福利分配房屋的政策，把它改为货币化、商品化，让人民群众自己买房子。要改革这个政策，这个整个的改革方案已经进行了多年。我们准备今年下半年要出台新的政策：停止福利分房，一律改为商品房。

朱彤：The third reform will be the reform in the housing system. As I said earlier, the housing development will be the new growth point in China's economy. So, to achieve that objective we must change the policy of the welfare allocation of housing, so as to monetarize and commercialize all the housings, so that the people, they can purchase their own houses. And we expect to issue a new policy in the second half of this year after many years of studying and deliberation on that. That is to say, according to the new policy, we will stop all the allocation of welfare housing, and all the housing will be commercialized.

朱总理：第四是医疗制度的改革。我们在下半年即将出台一个全国的医疗的改革的制度来保证人民群众的基本的福利。

朱彤：The fourth reform will be the reform in the medical care system. In the second half of this year, a nationwide medical care reform program is expected to come out so as to ensure the basic welfare of the people in terms of medical care.

朱总理：第五是财政税收制度的改革的进一步完善。现行的财政税收制是1994年改革的，取得了极大的成功，保证了每年的财政收入以很高的比例增加。但是目前存在一个问题，就是“费”大于“税”。很多各级政府机关都在国家规定以外来征收各种费用，使老百姓负担不堪，民怨沸腾，必须整顿和改革。

朱彤：Fifthly, will be the furtherance of the reform in the fiscal and taxation system. The current fiscal and taxation system is the result of the reform in 1994, and this has achieved a great success in ensuring the increase in the revenue of the government every year by very large margin. However, the current problem facing us is there are more charges and more revenues coming from charges than from tax collections. The various government institutions have out of the provisions of the ... or regulations of the state charged the various kinds of fees from the people. As a result, the people are very heavily burdened and they have a lot of complaints about that. So this phenomenon must be reversed and we must have a reform in this regard.

朱总理：也就是说，各级政府机关除了必要的规费以外，不允许巧立名目向人民群众收费。

That is to say, except for some necessary and proscribed fees, the government institutions at various levels are prohibited from levying various charges or fees from the people in various kinds of names.

朱总理：最后，我还要讲一句，就是本届政府认为，科技兴国是本届政府的最大任务。科教兴国。

朱彤：Finally, I'd like to add that this government maintains that to revitalize China through science and education will be the most important task for the government.

朱总理：江泽民主席非常重视这个问题，多次地阐明科教兴国的重要性。但是，我们为什么贯彻得不好呢？没有钱。钱到哪儿去了呢？第一，我们政府机关庞大，吃饭财政，把钱都吃光了。

朱彤：President Jiang Ze-min attaches great importance to this issue and he has repeatedly emphasized the importance of science and education to China's development. But why hasn't this been implemented well? Because there is no money. And where has all the money gone? We have, you know, currently a very unwieldy government organization and government institutions, so we call, it's like eating finance or eating budget. That is to say, most, a large proportion of the budget have been ear-marked for paying the salaries of the government functionaries, so all the money actually have been eaten up.

朱总理：第二，在各级政府的干预底下，进行了不少的盲目的重复建设。几十亿、几百亿的一个项目投产以后没得市场。相反，把原有的一些企业又挤跨了。这就是中央的财政，包括我们的银行都拿不出钱来支持科教兴国，把钱浪费了。

朱彤：And secondly, under the intervention of governments at various levels, there have been a lot of indiscriminate and duplicated constructions. Some projects which have absorbed billions or tens of billions of RMB yuan of investment, as soon as they are put into operation, they actually they can't find any market for their projects, and some existing enterprises have to be closed or to be suspended because of these newly set-up projects. That's the main reason why the central government and including various state-owned banks do not have enough money to support the strategy of revitalizing the country through science and technology, because a lot of money has been squandered.

朱总理：因此本届政府决心精简政府结构，减掉一半的人。同时进一步贯彻制止重复建设的方针，不允许进行重复建设，把钱省下来。科技兴国的方针就能够贯彻了。科教兴国。

朱彤：So, the current government has every resolve to streamline and simplify the government institutions, and to cut the staff by half, and we will continue to implement the policy of prohibiting and stopping all the duplicated constructions. So that we will be able to channel more money and to save more money for implementing the strategy of revitalizing China through science and education.

朱总理：中央已经决定成立国家科技教育领导小组。我当组长，李岚清同志当副组长。已经江泽民主席批准。我们有决心进一步把科教兴国的方针贯彻到底。谢谢大家。

朱彤：The Central Committee of the CPC has decided to establish a leading group for the state science and education development. And I will be the head of the group, and Vice Premier Li Lan-qing will be the deputy head, and this has got the approval of President Jiang Ze-min, so we have the determination to implement very well the policy and strategy of revitalizing China through science and education. Thank you.