BEIJING (AP) - China's government pledged Tuesday to repair the country's ravaged environment and boost public services under its new leadership, an acknowledgment that quality of life was sidelined during the outgoing administration's decade of breakneck economic growth.
In a policy speech opening the national legislature's yearly session, soon-to-retire Premier Wen Jiabao went through a list of problems that had built up in recent years and was being left to his successors: a sputtering growth model; poisoned air, waterways and soil; a vast and growing rich-poor gap; and rampant official corruption that has alienated many Chinese.
"Is this a time bomb?" Yao Jianfu, a retirement government researcher, asked. Yao's specialty is China's army of migrant workers who are often deprived of access to housing, education and other government services. "If there's an economic downturn and massive unemployment, will the 200 million migrant workers become the main force of the next Cultural Revolution?" he said, referring to the excesses of the chaotic 1966-76 period.
The unfinished agenda of China's past decade are now central concerns of the new leadership as it seeks to assuage a public that is looking beyond pocket-book issues, empowered by the Internet and increasingly vocal about the need for change.
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A Chinese tourist uses his smart phone to take videos of a flag raising ceremony on Tiananmen Square at dawn before the opening session of the annual National People's Congress held in the nearby Great Hall of the People, Beijing, China, Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Alexander F. Yuan
A street cleaner on an electronic bike passes by People's Liberation Army soldiers dressed as ushers while they stand guard in front of the Great Hall of the People before the opening session of the National People's Congress in Beijing Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Andy Wong
Chinese military band members rehearse before the opening session of the National People's Congress at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, in China, Tuesday, March 5, 2013. China's government promised its people Tuesday deficit-fueled spending to fight deep-seated corruption, improve the despoiled environment and address other quality-of-life issues demanded by an increasingly vocal public looking for change. AP / Kin Cheung
A Chinese military member adjusts a camera as he watches over Tiananmen Square from a rooftop against a sun rise, across from the Great Hall of the People before the opening session of the National People's Congress in Beijing Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Andy Wong
A delegate, right, checks his mobile phone while officials' vehicles prepare to leave the Great Hall of the People after the opening session of the National People's Congress in Beijing Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Andy Wong
A member of military music band yawns while others listen to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's work reports speech at the opening session of the annual National People's Congress at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, in China, Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Andy Wong
Ethnic minority delegates wearing traditional costumes pose for photographers as they arrive at the Great Hall of the People for the opening session of the National People's Congress in Beijing Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Andy Wong
Ethnic minority delegates wearing a traditional costumes arrive at the Great Hall of the People for the opening session of the National People's Congress in Beijing Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Andy Wong
Chinese police officers on electronic two wheel vehicles patrol on Tiananmen Square, before the opening session of the National People's Congress in Beijing Tuesday, March 5, 2013 AP / Andy Wong
A cleaner sweeps in between the Chinese officials' vehicles parked inside the Great Hall of the People during the opening session of the National People's Congress in Beijing Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Andy Wong
Members of the military music band line up to enter the Great Hall of the People before the opening session of the National People's Congress in Beijing Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Andy Wong
A vendor watches the live telecast of the annual government work report by outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao on a television in a vegetable wholesale market in Fuyang in central China's Anhui province Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP /
A delegate walks past People's Liberation Army soldiers dressed as ushers at the Great Hall of the People during the opening session of the National People's Congress in Beijing Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Andy Wong
A worker measures the distance between seats for China's top leaders before the opening session of the annual National People's Congress in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, China, Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Ng Han Guan
Journalists film Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao delivers his work reports at the opening session of the annual National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Andy Wong
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao gives the work report at the opening session of the annual National People's Congress in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, China, Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Kin Cheung
Hostesses refresh the cups for Chinese President Hu Jintao, left, and his expected successor and Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping during the opening session of the annual National People's Congress in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, China, Tuesday, March 5, 2013 AP / Ng Han Guan
An ethnic minority delegate attends the opening session of the National People's Congress in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, China, Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Kin Cheung
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is displayed on a screen as he delivers the work report at the opening session of the annual National People's Congress in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, China, Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Ng Han Guan
China's top leaders stand to sing the national anthem during the opening session of the National People's Congress in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, China, Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Kin Cheung
Delegate leave after the opening session of the National People's Congress in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, China, Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Kin Cheung
A delegate, wearing ethnic minority clothing, packs her bag near a military delegate after the opening session of the annual National People's Congress at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, China, Tuesday, March 5, 2013. AP / Ng Han Guan
A National People's Congress delegate, wearing an ethnic minority costume, walks towards the Great Hall of the People a day before the opening session in Beijing, China, Monday, March 4, 2013. AP / Ng Han Guan
A Chinese paramilitary policeman stands guard on Tiananmen Square while sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference are held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Monday, March 4, 2013. AP / Kin Cheung
Hostesses, who serve delegates, pose for photographers on Tiananmen Square while sessions of the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference are held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Monday, March 4, 2013. AP / Andy Wong
Chinese People's Liberation Army soldiers dressed as ushers march outside the Great Hall of the People after sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing Monday, March 4, 2013. AP / Andy Wong
A hostess arranges the delegates' chairs before the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of People in Beijing Sunday, March 3, 2013. AP / Andy Wong
Hostesses pose for photograph during the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, China, Sunday, March 3, 2013. AP / Kin Cheung
A man talks on phone during the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, China, Sunday, March 3, 2013. AP / Kin Cheung
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