PLA Daily 2003-06-26

　　BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Jin Renqing, China's Minister of Finance, says the central government had injected 1.3 billion yuan (about 162.5 million US dollars) into a special fund for the prevention and treatment of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) by June 18.

　　China's local government expenditure for the disease was more than ten billion yuan, Jin said.

　　Jin spoke while reporting final accounting figures of China's state revenue and expenditure in 2002 to China's top legislature, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC).

　　China established a special fund of two billion yuan for the prevention and treatment of SARS and adopted a policy of free treatment for rural and urban residents unable to pay.

　　Jin said the measures provided substantial financial support for curbing the contagious disease.

　　China also exempted tax payments on special subsidies granted to medical workers combating SARS.

　　China was ready to spend more in the next half year into restructuring the country's public health infrastructure and disease warning and control system, Jin said.

　　He promised the state budget would be mostly spent in China's vast rural area, improving local heath care and disaster management systems.

　　According to Jin's report, most of China's state departments were required not to overspend their overall annual budget, except for the departments of public health, water conservancy and those directly related to SARS or disaster management.

　　(June 25, Xinhuanet)