Wide-ranging and socially responsible measures for Shanghai residents in 2007 were announced yesterday. The "11 good deeds" include ensuring traffic safety of school shuttle buses and improving rural public health facilities.

City officials also vowed to lift the overall safety levels of food and drugs by 2010. Things closely related to people's daily lives such as oil, rice and water would be given particular attention.

"It's the principle of our government to solve practical problems for the people," municipal spokesperson, Jiao Yang, said at yesterday's news conference.

The government will market a universal logo for the city's 370 school and kindergarten shuttle buses.

A series of traffic safety measures includes regular training for shuttle bus drivers, tougher punishments for bus drivers breaking traffic rules and improved traffic signs in a radius of between 50 meters and 100 meters around schools. The city at present doesn't have specific rules for school shuttle bus operation, drivers' qualifications or punishments if they break traffic laws.

On December 22 a reversing school shuttle bus hit and injured three children in the playground of the Xingchen Kindergarten in Minhang District.

The government yesterday promised to standardize 400 rural clinics, add 100 new ambulances and conduct free optic surgery for 3,000 "pearl-eye" patients.

The city will install household emergency call devices for 20,000 senior residents who live alone. It'll also provide home services for 130,000 seniors.

Wang Longxing, head of the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration, said at the conference that spot-checks would be carried out on all kinds of food to ensure public safety. Punishment measures for those who made food containing harmful ingredients were not revealed.

A 2007 Blueprint -- 11 Initiatives Identified

1. Creation of 500,000 job opportunities including 100,000 for the unemployed and surplus farmers.

2. Upgrading of the city's 240 recovery and activity centers for the mentally retarded.

3. Installing household emergency call devices for 20,000 senior residents living alone.

4. Upgrading of 400 rural clinics.

5. Upgrading of communication equipment (telephone and Internet access) for 400 rural primary and middle schools.

6. Providing training lessons for 500,000 farmers and workers.

7. Fare discounts for bus passengers who transfer between two buses and air-conditioning on many of the 300 routes around the Inner Ring Road.

8. Standardization of 200 wet markets.

9. Placement of electric-recognition bars on one million tanks of liquefied cooking gas or other hazardous chemicals.

10.Ensuring traffic safety for 370 school shuttle buses.

11.The setting up of 20 new community-activity centers. Promotion of moral standards.

(Shanghai Daily January 25, 2007)