The theme "a better life for the people" has dominated this year's NPC and CPPCC sessions. Housing, health and social security are the most basic needs for people's better life. And not surprisingly, the hottest topic has been housing prices, which have risen faster than wages.

Housing:

In order to solve the problem, a total of 63.2 billion yuan will be spent by the central government on low-income housing in 2010, an increase of 8.1 billion yuan, or 14.7 percent more than last year. Three million affordable houses will be built and 2.8 million shanty homes renovated. The government promises that affordable housing will go to those who really need it.

Jiang Weixin, Minister of Housing & Urban-Rural Development, said, "You can't drive a Mercedes and buy affordable housing. This is corruption. We're resolute in fighting corruption. We'll tighten management and disclose applicants' income and family background. We'll also expand the coverage of affordable housing. We are encouraging some local governments to allow low to medium income households to apply for it."

Health:

Right now, the central government covers twenty five percent of medical costs. But authorities understand investment in health services can never be too much.

Chen Zhu, Health Minister, said,  "Right now, the money the government spends on medical care is still low. I had the opportunity to make my recommendations to the central leadership to raise the contribution rate of medical cooperative systems in rural areas to 300 yuan. Essentially this means the government will spend more on grass-roots medical services. But this requires the effort of government at all levels. All need to fund this endeavor."

Employment:

The government plans to improve people's quality of life by raising wages and benefits, providing better vocational training, and paying more respect to workers.

Hu Xiaoyi, Vice Minister of Human Resources & Social Security, said, "This year, we will continue to focus on college graduates, rural migrant workers and people who have experienced difficulties in employment. We will also further improve our pro-employment policies."