some have succeeded in the social and economic transition into prosperity, but many others have suffered from stagnation and social turbulence due to inadequate policy-making, he noted.
"the problems and contradictions china will face in the next decades may be even more complicated and thorny than others" as it is turning from a planned economy to a market economy with its social structure and ideological setup also in major shake-up, hu acknowledged.
"independent thinking of the general public, their newly-developed penchant for independent choices and thus the widening gap of ideas among different social strata will pose further challenges to china"s policy makers," he said. "negative and corruptive phenomena and more and more rampant crimes in the society will also jeopardize social stability and harmony."
in view of the international situations, hu noted that building a harmonious society is also a requisite requirement for the chinese authorities to clear away challenges and risks in the international relations, including unfair world order, rocky road of multi-polarization of world political framework, pressure from economic globalization, and security concerns.
harmony means democracy, justice ...
"a harmonious society should feature democracy, the rule of law, equity, justice, sincerity, amity and vitality," hu said.
such a society will give full scope to people"s talent and creativity, enable all the people to share the social wealth
brought by reform and development, and forge an ever closer relationship between the people and government. "these things will thus result in lasting stability and unity," hu said.
to meet this goal, hu told the country"s high-ranking officials to:
-- strive for sustained, rapid and coordinated economic growth;
sound economic growth and increasing abundance of social wealth are the material foundation for a harmonious society, and the well-being of the country"s rural population will play a decisive role.
"when the farmers can lead a good life and assume a higher overall quality, the vast countryside will be stable and prosperous."
-- develop socialist democracy;
by developing democracy, the people"s opinions may be further let out, their intelligence be fully absorbed, and a democratic policy-making mechanism will help balance different social interests and avoid social conflicts.
-- actively enforce the principle of rule of law;
the rule of law is important for the promotion, realization and safeguarding of a harmonious society. this principle should be rigorously implemented in all political, administrative and judicial sectors to ensure the powerful be checked and accountable for their misdeeds.