<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Dec 21, 2008
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During a surprise visit, Wen told university students that the two key worries he has are that of migrant workers returning to their villages, and employment for graduates. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->BEIJING - CHINESE Premier Wen Jiabao, in a surprise visit to a Beijing university, tried reassuring students they would be able to find jobs amid the current global economic woes, and promised more unspecified steps to help the economy.
Rising unemployment has fed Beijing's fears of unrest as forecasts for China's growth next year fall below 8 per cent, seen as a minimum needed to create jobs and maintain social stability after years of double-digit expansion.
Students, who lead pro-democracy protests in 1989 which the government brutally put down, are a particular cause for concern.
'Students, please rest at ease, we are putting the problem of graduate employment first,' Mr Wen was quoted as saying on Saturday to students at a Beijing university by the semi-official China News Service.
'Your difficulties are my difficulties, and if you are worried then I am more worried than you,' Mr Wen added.
Beijing last month began rushing out a US$586 billion (S$856 billion) stimulus package focused on infrastructure projects to boost domestic demand and reduce the economy's dependence on faltering exports. The authorities have also been cutting interest rates and directing banks to give loans to small companies.
'We will continue to take measures, and almost every day we come out with them, to the extent that we are even studying that if current support is not enough then we will do more,' Mr Wen said, without elaborating.
The premier appealed for patience for the measures to take effect, the report added, saying they would take some time to kick in.
'But we are most worried about two issues: one is that of migrant workers returning to their villages, and the other is employment for graduates,' he added.
Many migrant workers, who have been the backbone of the cheap labour which has fuelled China's export-driven boom, have returned home after being laid off by factories with few orders to fill from traditional markets in the United States and Europe.
Some of these workers have taken to the streets after factories shut without paying them, another area the government is trying to deal with lest the problem get out of hand and lead to more widespread labour unrest.
Mr Wen said companies must not lay off technical staff or university graduates even if they have financial difficulties.
Urban unemployment has risen to about 9.4 per cent, double the official figure, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said in a report this week.
A quarter of China's 6.1 million college graduates could have trouble finding a job next year, it said.
The weekend edition of the official China Daily quoted the country's top judge as saying maintaining social stability during the current economic crisis should be courts' top priority. 'We will closely monitor issues such as corporate bankruptcies, labour disputes and breaches of contracts, as well as enforcement issues brought about by the financial crisis,' Mr Wang Shengjun said. -- REUTERS
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Wen reassures students <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
During a surprise visit, Wen told university students that the two key worries he has are that of migrant workers returning to their villages, and employment for graduates. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->BEIJING - CHINESE Premier Wen Jiabao, in a surprise visit to a Beijing university, tried reassuring students they would be able to find jobs amid the current global economic woes, and promised more unspecified steps to help the economy.
Rising unemployment has fed Beijing's fears of unrest as forecasts for China's growth next year fall below 8 per cent, seen as a minimum needed to create jobs and maintain social stability after years of double-digit expansion.
Students, who lead pro-democracy protests in 1989 which the government brutally put down, are a particular cause for concern.
'Students, please rest at ease, we are putting the problem of graduate employment first,' Mr Wen was quoted as saying on Saturday to students at a Beijing university by the semi-official China News Service.
'Your difficulties are my difficulties, and if you are worried then I am more worried than you,' Mr Wen added.
Beijing last month began rushing out a US$586 billion (S$856 billion) stimulus package focused on infrastructure projects to boost domestic demand and reduce the economy's dependence on faltering exports. The authorities have also been cutting interest rates and directing banks to give loans to small companies.
'We will continue to take measures, and almost every day we come out with them, to the extent that we are even studying that if current support is not enough then we will do more,' Mr Wen said, without elaborating.
The premier appealed for patience for the measures to take effect, the report added, saying they would take some time to kick in.
'But we are most worried about two issues: one is that of migrant workers returning to their villages, and the other is employment for graduates,' he added.
Many migrant workers, who have been the backbone of the cheap labour which has fuelled China's export-driven boom, have returned home after being laid off by factories with few orders to fill from traditional markets in the United States and Europe.
Some of these workers have taken to the streets after factories shut without paying them, another area the government is trying to deal with lest the problem get out of hand and lead to more widespread labour unrest.
Mr Wen said companies must not lay off technical staff or university graduates even if they have financial difficulties.
Urban unemployment has risen to about 9.4 per cent, double the official figure, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said in a report this week.
A quarter of China's 6.1 million college graduates could have trouble finding a job next year, it said.
The weekend edition of the official China Daily quoted the country's top judge as saying maintaining social stability during the current economic crisis should be courts' top priority. 'We will closely monitor issues such as corporate bankruptcies, labour disputes and breaches of contracts, as well as enforcement issues brought about by the financial crisis,' Mr Wang Shengjun said. -- REUTERS
