CRNTT:

Some overseas institutions claimed that Xizang forced farmers and herdsmen to receive vocational training and seek employment in other areas. Can you tell us about the true situation? Thank you.

Xu Zhitao: 

Thank you for your question. First of all, I would like to say that the word "force" is purely a smear. The Chinese government has always attached great importance to the protection of citizens' work rights. The Labor Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that workers enjoy the right to equal employment and career choices and workers shall fulfil their labor tasks and improve their vocational skills. In recent years, the government of the autonomous region has implemented proactive employment policies and adhered to the principles of workers choosing jobs independently, adjusting employment according to the market, as well as promoting employment via government policies so as to boost employment among farmers and herdsmen through multiple channels. The main measures are as follows:

First, we have attached equal importance to adjusting the industrial structure and creating jobs. Through multidimensional ways, such as developing industries that can take advantage of local strengths, as well as government-invested projects, we have promoted employment for farmers and herdsmen and vigorously developed ecological industries and the carbon sink economy, thus encouraging people to find jobs and start their own businesses in green sectors. The surveyed urban unemployment rate was lower than the national average level, and zero-employment families continued to be a dynamic zero.  

Second, we have attached equal importance to improving employment services and strengthening vocational education and training. We have implemented an urban-rural unified registration system for employment and entrepreneurship and included all rural and pastoral workers in the urban employment registration, providing free services such as labor exchange, career guidance, and job registration. We have actively implemented a vocational skill training system, targeting urban and rural workers over the age of 16 who are willing to find jobs and need training. When formulating training and employment plans, we fully respect the aspirations and needs of the people, and the training programs, methods, and institutions were independently chosen by urban and rural workers.

Third, we have encouraged farmers and herdsmen to start their own businesses and find jobs by themselves. In order to help them find jobs nearby, we encouraged local enterprises to employ local farmers and herdsmen and carried out targeted skill trainings based on job requirements and workers' actual conditions. At the same time, by relying on the employment service stations established in other provinces, cities/prefectures in Xizang have also helped the surplus labor force from agricultural and pastoral areas go out to work in an orderly manner. They also actively engaged with the needs of farmers and herdsmen in food, accommodation, transportation, and protection of rights and interests, and effectively helped them solve worries at home.

All these practices have been praised by the workers. Thank you.