With mounting inequalities and disparate interests that need accommodating,
the PRC Government has recently taken up plans to address the growing gap
between rich and poor and to upgrade social welfare. Specifically, under the leadership
of President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, the government made the
creation of a “harmonious society” the top priority in its Eleventh Five Year Plan
for National Economic and Social Development for the period 2006–2010.During
the plan period, however, the income disparity continued to grow.