1.Shenzhen Press Group: I have several questions. How many elderly people stay at home to enjoy community services in Shanghai? How many workers are employed to provide these services? In addition, how big does a residential area have to be to build a service facility for this group, i.e. the city’s standard requirements?

Jiao Yang: There are 95,000 elderly people who are already enjoying this service in Shanghai. This service does not include full-time care services for the elderly in their homes, or by their families or selves. Community or social organizations will provide visiting services to the elderly, or communities will set up service facilities to take care of the aged residents during the daytime. You can consult the civil affairs authority for the specific number of service workers after the meeting.

The city’s newly revised standard also includes the higher requirements on the setup of service facilities for senior citizens. In a residential area inhabited by 200,000 people, a rest home should have 250 beds, up from 200 required in the version issued in 2002. A rest home in a 50,000-resident community is required to have 150 beds, an increase from 100 in 2002. As well, its floor area has also been raised to 4,200 square meters from the previous 3,500 square meters.

Every community (including towns) should build at least one establishment for the elderly. By 2010, the downtown area within the Inner Ring Road in Puxi and communities located in the downtowns historical and cultural protection areas should have enough beds for 1.5 percent of the elderly population. The residential areas between the Inner Ring and Outer Ring roads should have beds equal to two percent of the elderly population in these areas by then. Pudong New Area and suburban areas should be able to provide beds to 2.3 percent of its local elderly residents. The standard encourages different social organizations to set up facilities for the elderly to supplement beds. It also gives priority to the elderly and disabled while requiring improved public service facilities in communities. I have supplied a brief outline of the information you requested. Anyone interested in the issue can also look for more details via the city government’s Website.

2.International Finance News: The first question is…what is the difference between labor security supervision and labor dispute treatment? If an employee applied for arbitration, will the labor security supervision authority play as the related law enforcement authority? And what is included in the jurisdiction of labor security authorities?

Jiao Yang: Both labor security supervision and labor dispute treatment are important ways to protect the legal interests of laborers. The supervision is the administration and law enforcement implemented by labor security authorities. They watch over employers. It is an intervention of the country’s public power to the labor security field, because the harmony of labor relations concerns public interests and social order. Labor dispute treatment includes mediation, arbitration and lawsuits. It addresses disputes between employees and employers on a fair basis, in order to protect employees’ civil rights.

Keeping to the national regulations, Shanghai’s newly-issued labor security supervision regulations stipulate that if an employee has reported a dispute to the labor security authority and a supervision procedure has kicked off, the labor dispute treatment authority can refuse to accept the complaint. So it will avoid two results on one issue.

The reporter also asked about the jurisdiction of labor security authorities. Shanghai’s regulation is a more specific version of the State Council’s regulation. Shanghai’s version doesn’t repeat what the State Council’s regulation had specified. Hence, I’d like to make a brief introduction to the jurisdiction.

Labor security authorities supervise:

(1) the internal labor security rules drafted by employers;

(2) the contracts signed between employers and employees;

(3) if employers hire child labor;

(4) if employers keep to the regulations on how to protect female employees and minor employees;

(5) if employers keep to the regulations on work and rest;

(6) if employers keep to the salary regulations;

(7) if employers join in social insurances and pay the premiums;

(8) if job seeking institutions, vocational training institutions and professional examination and appraisal institutions keep to the relevant regulations;

(9) …other labor security supervision affairs stipulated by laws and regulations.

The labor security supervision will be carried out in many forms, including inspections, reviewing written materials submitted by employers and accepting complaints. Thank you.

3.The Yomiuri Shimbun: I would like to ask you a question many Shanghai citizens are concerned about. In northeast Jing’an District is a piece of land. The plot, as I know, used to be owned by entrepreneur Zhou Zhengyi. But the district government took back the plot after Zhou was jailed. Besides a part of the plot where a transformer station will be built, the plot is left idle. It’s quite abnormal to see such a large piece of idle land in the downtown area. Some relocated residents are complaining. Does the district government or the city government have any plans for the plot?

Jiao Yang: Thanks for your concern over Shanghai’s land use. I think you can consult the city housing and land management authority or the district housing and land management authority after the conference for more specific information. Thank you.

4.Metro Express: Can you elaborate on the plan to encourage senior citizens living in the downtown area to use the services available in the suburb? Has the plan started? Thank you.

Jiao Yang: This is a very good question. We know Shanghai’s downtown is densely populated. The senior population is also concentrating in the downtown area, boosting the demand for rest homes. But it’s difficult to increase beds due to a shortage of land resources. Actually, there are a number of vacant beds in the suburbs, but transport and medical services are not as convenient as in the downtown area.

Shanghai is studying the encouraging policies. The downtown will mainly develop small and medium-sized rest homes featuring nurses. Medium and large-sized comprehensive rest homes will be built in the suburbs.

The city’s civil affairs authority has launched several pilot programs in Luwan, Jing’an and Huangpu districts. They invested in the suburban areas to build rest homes, where most of the customers are elderly people from downtown districts. The districts downtown will also study the subsidy policy to encourage their senior citizens to accept suburban rest homes. The related municipal authorities will provide support to help the downtown and the suburb share their resources. Thank you.

5.Shanghai Morning Post: Today’s release mentioned a new subsidy for the elderly. How is it different from the current subsidy policy? Also, it mentioned a subsidy for elderly people in need of nursing. Is it a new policy? Thank you.

Jiao Yang: The city’s current subsidy mainly covers people aged 60 to 69 who use the city’s minimum pension and people older than 70 who have low incomes and are in need of care. The per capita subsidy is about 180 yuan a month. Shanghai has introduced some adjustments to expand the coverage.

The first is to expand the subsidy’s coverage. Those aged 60 to 69 who have low incomes and are having difficulty taking care of themselves will be counted in.

Secondly, the amount of subsidy given to a senior citizen will depend on their physical condition instead of age.

The third is to raise the per capita subsidy to 200 yuan a month.

Districts or counties can also use finance budgets or the welfare lottery fund to give subsidies to the elderly people who are not covered but are in a difficult situation.

The nursing subsidy is indeed a new policy. It will subsidize the elderly people who need special nursing but cannot afford the service. The amount will be 100 yuan or 200 yuan a month, depending on their physical condition. So the total subsidy of an elderly man would therefore be 300 yuan to 400 yuan a month.

To be more specific, the two subsidies will be paid in the form of service tickets, i.e. by letting the elderly buy services. They are not given cash.

The nursing subsidy for those older than 70 comes from the medical insurance fund. The nursing subsidy for those aged 60 to 69 will be funded by the city’s, districts and county’s welfare lottery incomes.

6.Shanghai Daily: Concerning the subsidies. You mentioned just now that the amount of the nursing subsidy depends on their physical condition. Are there any specific standards? And is a hospital certification necessary? I’d also like to ask you how the elderly use the service tickets? Thank you.

Jiao Yang: Shanghai’s civil affairs authority has begun training assessment personnel and drafted a series of assessment standards. The standards are very elaborate and scientific. But today I don’t have that specific information form here.

The assessment is very important. People in different conditions need different nursing services. The subsidies I mentioned will all be implemented after the scientific assessment.

7. Youth Daily: Hello. My question is about labor supervision. Shang. It's becoming a big problem in Shanghai that employers carrying out local employment are not registered in Shanghai. For example, a company registered in Beijing generally conducts employment here in Shanghai and thus wage delays occur in Shanghai. Does Shanghai's new labor regulation highlight this issue? Could you please give a detailed explanation about it? Thanks!

Jiao Yang: The new regulation embraces provisions on how to deal with this case of an employer who hires employees in an area other than its registration place. As to the specific situation you gave, you may check the provisions of the regulation after the conference. Thank you!

8. Nihon Keizai Shimbun: I want to ask a question that greatly concerns overseas enterprises in Shanghai. It mainly concerns the plant relocation of over 20 enterprises, including 10 Japanese businesses, in Jiading's Industrial Park. How is this project progressing? The Shanghai municipal government is said to have given a formal reply about this issue to the Consulate-General of Japan in Shanghai on November 24. But, as I learned, the Japanese consulate is not satisfied with the reply. How will the Shanghai government respond to this issue?
Another question is: Why haven't the recent press conferences and news briefings had any question-and-answer sessions? When will the question-and-answer sessions resume? Thanks!

Jiao Yang: For your first question, as far as I know, the city's related departments are assisting Jiading District to deal with the issue in a positive and secure way. As to the formal reply you mentioned, I'm not aware of it. 
We learned from related departments that the Shanghai Foreign Investment Commission is helping Jiading District handle the issue, and a reply has been offered to the Japanese enterprises. Other than that, I have no other information to provide.
Press conferences are carried out in a variety of forms. Some conferences are open to all kinds of questions and others are only open to exclusive questions on certain topics (released at the conferences). Recent conferences have been carried out in the latter form and only questions exclusive to the topics released at the conferences are taken. This form of press conference is widely adopted around the world. It's not a brand-new form we have initiated.

9. Wenhui Daily: Hello. My question is about the caring service subsidy for the city's seniors. The first subsidy standard you mentioned is 200 yuan per capita. Since it's an average, there should be amounts higher or lower than that level. What's the maximum subsidy, including this part of the nursing subsidy, a local senior citizen can get if he/she is in need of the service?
The second question is about daytime service centers. For each center, the city government will provide a construction subsidy of 300,000-yuan and the district/county government should follow with an input above the ratio of 1:1. Does that mean each center will get a total subsidy of over 600,000 yuan? Then, what specific construction items will the subsidies cover? Do the centers have to be fully constructed to qualify?
　
Jiao Yang: The word "per capita" indicates that there'll be higher and lower amounts of subsidies, while the average is 200 yuan. To get a better grasp of the situation, I consulted related departments for further information. In fact, this standard is a basic one. Any senior citizens living on low-income insurance or a low income and requiring caring services will get 200 yuan. Those in severe poverty will receive 400 yuan, which is an additional 200 yuan added with the standard 200 yuan sum.

In regards to the daytime service centers, Shanghai municipal government will subsidize each of them 300,000 yuan.  The district/county government will follow with their share of the subsidy at a minimum ratio of 1:1, or at least 300,000 yuan. The district/county subsidies may go up if the centers are equipped with better facilities. All in all, the minimum subsidy should be 600,000 yuan in total.

10. Xinmin Evening News: I have a very simple question. It's also a common concern of senior citizens. When will the subsidies start?

Jiao Yang: This is a very simple but important question. The policy will take effect from next year. But implementation will not start until the policy passes evaluations, which will progress on different schedules in each district/county. Training is a must. The evaluators must receive training before starting the evaluation progress. The subsidies will start only after the evaluation results are released.

11. China Labor and Social Security News: I have some questions about the financing of the stay-at-home caring service for seniors. The document reads that financial departments at all levels should finance the service. So, up to now, how much has been financed and how much will be financed? How would you spend the money to be financed?

Jiao Yang: I'm afraid I'm not able to offer you those figures right now. You may check with related departments after the conference. We may assist you to get the information if needed.

12. Jiefang Daily: Hi Ms. Jiao, I have a question. What is the proportion of the city's senior citizens living on the basic income guarantee or low incomes? Has the relevant government department estimated how many elders the policy will cover?

Jiao Yang: I said just now that the government will provide grants to the elders who live on the basic income guarantee or low incomes and require nursing care. Since we have to assess the extent to which the elders need nursing care before we can calculate it, the figure is not available yet. But, I'll give a general introduction on Shanghai's senior citizens situation.

Even as early as 1979, the 60+ age group accounted for 10 percent of the city's total population. Shanghai has been China's fastest aging area for more than 20 years. By the end of 2005, the number of local senior citizens hit 2.67 million, representing 19.58 percent of the registered population. Here are five main distinguishing features: 1.) The proportion of senior citizens is high. The city's proportion of elderly to the total population is nearly double the number of the country's average proportion and is higher than those of neighboring countries and regions like South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as of some developed countries.  2). The aging of the population accelerates dramatically. In recent years, there’s been an annual net increase of more than 60,000 in the local elderly population. It is estimated that the city will experience an annual increase of about 90,000 during 2006 and 2010, and close to 170,000 from 2010 to 2020. The growth will peak sometime around 2025, pushing up the city's proportion of elderly people to approximately 35 percent. 3). More people are living to extremely old ages. Shanghai's advanced age group of people over 80 has already hit 437,700 people, constituting 16.43 percent of the city's elderly population. 4). The city faces both the challenge of population aging and the task of developing its economy. The local population began to age while its GDP was merely US$1,000 per capita. However, some developed countries didn't experience the aging of their populations until their GDPs per capita reached the level of US$5,000-10,000. The city's elder care services are under double pressure from a relatively low level of economic development and the aging population. The rapid aging of the population stimulates a demand for elder care services. On the other hand, both the city's level of economic development and the senior citizens' financial capacity are relatively low as a whole. 5). Quite a few families are composed of older couples, elders living alone, or aged parents living with their retired children. 166,000 of the city’s senior citizens live alone, accounting for 23.3 percent of the above families, which represent 28.1 percent of local families with elderly members.

The progressive aging of the population is a key indicator suggesting Shanghai's rapid economic and social development. Meanwhile, it mounts enormous pressure on the social welfare system, causes the aging of the workforce, boosts the reform of traditional methods of elder care and challenges elder care services.

The government, society and families share the responsibility in taking care of the elderly. At the current level of development, the municipal government will play a larger role to create and improve the elder care system. While ensuring and increasing the funding to elder care services, the government should attach importance to forward planning, make favorable policies, create a favorable climate and strengthen management. In practice, we should encourage investment in elder care services and the participation of non-profit organizations, using various methods such as providing favorable policies and government subsidies. Meanwhile, we will further advance the development of the elder care system by optimizing the use of resources and encouraging the development of organizations that offer elder care services. We will create a balanced elder care system, led by the government, with public participation, that has a diversified portfolio.

13. Lianhe Zaobao (Singapore): Thank you. The central government pays great attention to the problem of population aging. Another issue of great concern is employment security. The spokeswoman has named quite a few challenges facing Shanghai. Have you discussed the feasibility of raising the retirement age? Is there any detailed plan concerning this issue? Secondly, the central government yesterday briefed the employment outlook of college graduates. What efforts has Shanghai made to prepare for this? Since many university graduates from other provinces have come to Shanghai to find jobs, how will the city deal with the bottleneck? Thirdly, today's Wenhui Daily published an article saying Shanghai should undertake the task of supervising land deals. Since we didn't attend the conference, could you give a brief introduction to it? What role will Shanghai play in the next round of macro regulations and land control measures? Thank you.

Jiao Yang: Shanghai complies with the country's rule on the retirement age. As to the employment issue, Shanghai makes enormous efforts to increase employment at all times. There are many policies regarding this area and I'll give detailed information about them after the news briefing. The government has adopted different policies and measures concerning how to help university graduates from other provinces, unemployed workers and migrant workers get jobs. I talked about the measures aimed at helping migrant workers land jobs in the previous conference. As to the issue of strengthening land management, there are news reports about the relevant meeting held by the municipal government yesterday. I read the reports and they are very detailed.  For further information, please consult the relevant authorities in charge of land management.

Thank you for attending the news briefing. Since our time is limited, today's press conference is now concluded. Thank you all.