China pacifies disgruntled workers

Hundreds of protesters gather in front of a government office in the city of Liaoyang

(CNN) -- Top Chinese leaders have vowed to do more for laid-off workers, who have staged protests in more than ten provinces and cities in the past month.

In a recent internal speech, Premier Zhu Rongji asked local administrations to stop building luxurious villas and to curb "prestige projects" to save more money for social insurance.

Zhu, who first raised the banner of helping "disadvantaged sectors" last month, also confirmed that 4.6 billion yuan, double that of 2001, would be used this year to aid the estimated 12 million urban residents living under the poverty line.

The State Council, or cabinet, has in the past week sent instructions to all provinces and major cities asking local authorities to show more care for the disadvantaged classes.

In prosperous Guangdong, one of the first provinces to popularize the concept of helping disadvantaged sectors, Communist Party secretary Li Changchun has asked relevant departments to ensure timely social security payments for retired and laid-off workers.

Beijing has also urged leaders of the central city of Wuhan, scene of frequent labor unrests, to pay more attention to hardship relief.

Last month, the Wuhan media ran several stories about bogus companies who were trying to milk laid-off workers through promising to help them find housing and jobs.

The central government immediately ordered local cadres to rectify the situation -- and to provide better assistance to needy Wuhan residents.

'Plain living, hard struggle'

Meanwhile, President Jiang Zemin has revived a campaign to revive the spirit of Yanan, Shaanxi Province, a famous base for the early communist revolutionaries.

While touring Shaanxi earlier this week, Jiang said the Yanan Spirit of "plain living and hard struggle" as well as being responsive to the needs of the masses, "should be upheld now and into the future."

Jiang, accompanied by protégé Zeng Qinghong, also talked to workers and farmers in the poor province.

Analysts say Beijing is anxious to reassure the disadvantaged sectors, particularly those in hinterland provinces, that they have not been forgotten even as the priority for development has been given to the rich coast.

The analysts say the central authorities will continue to use the two-pronged tactics of gentle reassurance on the one hand, and ruthless crackdown on the other, to defuse the challenge of labor protestors.