国际英语新闻：Housing proves hot button issue

BEIJING, Mar. 14 -- Any topic related to property prices is a hot topic of discussion among Chinese people at the moment, and members of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) attending their annual meetings are no exception.

Nearly half of the proposals to the NPC and CPPCC sessions were about different ways of curbing soaring property prices and addressing the housing difficulties faced by low-income families. The most eye-catching of these was a call for a further reform of the country's housing policy.

Of the two proposals submitted this year by Zong Qinghou, chairman of leading beverage firm Wahaha and a member of the CPPCC, one dealt with the pressing question of housing.

Workers at a construction site in Haian, Jiangsu province

Zong said the government should take the lead in ensuring a more diverse range of housing is available to the people. In addition, Zhou called for a government-subsidized system of low-rent and affordable housing for low- and middle-income earners, alongside fully market-oriented housing for the wealthy.