国内英语新闻:China's court to eye price hikes' impact on people's livelihood

BEIJING, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's top judge, Wang Shengjun, on Monday urged the nation's courts to pay close attention to the impact on people's standards of living caused by recent price hikes.

Also, the courts should properly handle disputes regarding employment, social security, education, medical treatment, housing and consumption sectors, in an effort to safeguard people's vital interests, said Wang, President of the Supreme People's Court of China, at a meeting attended by presidents from the countrywide high courts.

Further, the Supreme People's Court urged local authorities to crack down on telecom and internet fraud, the fight against production and sales of poisonous food and fake medicine, and ensuring the safety of people's health and property, according to Wang.

All courts should also properly handle disputes concerning farmers' rights and interests, including cases relating to the sale of agricultural products and pay to migrant workers, Wang said.

Wang also urged the courts in various regions to take an active part in the country's efforts in protecting intellectual property rights and environmental protection, and hand down severe punishments for work-related crimes.

As to people's letters and appeals to the higher authorities for help, Wang said the courts and police officers should speed up dealing with long-pending cases, and resolve problems and complaints from people.

Statistics from the Supreme People's Court showed that in the first 11 months of this year, courts at various levels had received 9,754,141 cases and completed handling 8,967,396 cases, up 0.15 percent and 2.14 percent year-on-year.

Wang also said the courts had played an effective role in serving economic and social progress.