In Brief
Melamine use in milk was open secret, says ex-agriculture boss
The use of melamine in milk was an open secret in the dairy industry, and complaints about the additive emerged two years ago in a protest letter from the United States, CPPCC delegate and former deputy agriculture minister Zhang Baowen said. The Southern Metropolis News reported that the US letter was in response to the deaths of 16 cats fed melamine-tainted protein powder produced by a Jiangsu factory. He said about 16,000 milk-collection stations, not dairy farmers, added melamine to milk, and the standard concentration was 500g of melamine for every tonne of milk. Melamine is added to milk to boost its nitrogen content, allowing it to pass tests for protein levels. Mr Zhang stepped down as deputy minister in August, about a month before the infant formula scandal erupted.
Calls to cut conference costs through improved scheduling
Many CPPCC delegates say the annual conference could be wrapped up in seven days, instead of the nine currently, and time and money is being wasted through poor scheduling, the Southern Metropolis News reports. CPPCC member Zheng Huiqiang said the conference schedule should be shortened to help cut costs amid the economic crisis. He noted the NPC was concluded in 81/2 days. Another CPPCC member, Hu Yang of Beijing Sport University, said savings could be made by cutting down on the newspapers and magazines distributed to delegates.
Scholar suggests distribution of 1.3 trillion yuan in vouchers
The government should set aside one-third of the 4 trillion yuan (HK$4.5 trillion) stimulus package for vouchers to be put in 'red envelopes' and distributed to every citizen to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic, CPPCC delegate He Xingliang said. Mr He, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that in Chinese culture, 60 years was a complete calendar cycle and the 60th anniversary should be celebrated by the whole nation. Handing out red envelopes with spending vouchers was the fairest, simplest and most effective way to distribute social wealth, and would help the country's 800 million farmers. He said that giving everybody vouchers of up to 1,000 yuan was also the most effective way to boost domestic demand, the Beijing Times reports.
Proposal to cut unemployment by reducing work day to 6 hours
Zhejiang University deputy head and NPC member Si Jianmin has revived his proposal that the nation adopt a six-hour working day to ease unemployment, Chinanews.com.cn reports. Mr Si said that abolishing the eight-hour working day could boost the number of available jobs. According to his research, nearly 200 million mainlanders were out of work. He said people generally worked effectively for about 70 per cent of the existing working day, so cutting hours would increase efficiency and cut office water and electricity consumption.
Liu Xiang makes his debut
Star athlete and CPPCC member Liu Xiang finally showed up at the conference yesterday for the first time in his two years as a delegate, the Guangzhou Daily reports. Liu arrived in Beijing on a first-class flight from Shanghai, saying he had not brought any proposals to the conference and just planned to learn. He said he felt pressured by criticism on the internet about his absence, so he tried to make up for it by attending the last open-door day.
