In 1998, Xu Wenli, Wang Youcai, and Qin Yongmin, founders of the China Democracy Party, were sentenced for their party-building activities, marking the establishment of political parties as a taboo in China.
The Ministry of Public Security has launched the national public security informatization project, known as the Golden Shield Project, aimed at collecting information such as household registration, educational background, and residential addresses of Chinese citizens and achieving a nationwide network.
On September 21, 1998, television networks broadcast footage of President Bill Clinton testifying before a federal grand jury, addressing his relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky and defending his denial of the affair.
In August 1998, Fang Xinghai returned to China and joined China Construction Bank, participating in shareholding system reform, IPO preparations, non-performing asset disposal, and debt-to-equity swaps.
The Ministry of Finance issued 270 billion yuan in special treasury bonds to replenish the capital of the Big Four banks, and set up four major asset management companies to strip off 1.4 trillion yuan in non-performing assets.
The central authorities issued Document No. 10, characterizing the mass layoff of workers as an inevitable process in the economic transition, acknowledging that it would bring temporary difficulties to some workers, while claiming that this accords with the long-term interests of the working class.
By the end of 1997, a total of 12.74 million workers had been laid off or reassigned by state-owned enterprises nationwide, of whom 6.34 million had still not been re-employed; some enterprises were unable to guarantee basic living allowances and social insurance.
After taking office as Premier of the State Council, Zhu Rongji initiated the three-year relief program for state-owned enterprises. Through the policy of 'seizing the large and releasing the small' and downsizing for efficiency, he triggered a massive wave of layoffs among SOE workers.
In 1998, Wen Jiabao was promoted to Vice Premier and served as the overall commander of disaster relief in the catastrophic floods that year, rushing to the front lines.
After completing his studies and work overseas, Zhu Yunlai was brought into China International Capital Corporation (CICC) by Wang Qishan, beginning his rapid rise in the investment banking field.
China began implementing the Blood Donation Law of the People's Republic of China, which stipulates that all blood donations must be unpaid, in order to meet the country's blood supply needs.
Li Wei registered Oriental United Industrial Co., Ltd. in Hong Kong, obtaining Hong Kong residency, and subsequently registered companies such as Haoyi International.
In 1998, the direct election of the township head in Buyun Township, Sichuan, was suspended by the central authorities on the grounds that it was unconstitutional, marking the freezing of grassroots elections during the Jiang Zemin era.
Zhu Rongji came to Focus Report and wrote the inscription “public opinion supervision, the mouthpiece of the masses, a mirror for the government, and a vanguard of reform.” At that time, the proportion of public opinion supervision content broadcast by the program once reached 47%.
Pinnacle was founded, adopting a low-vig, high-volume model, and distinguishing itself from traditional bookmakers by not restricting winning bettors.
In 1998, Wu Zheng took office as Chief Operating Officer of Hong Kong's Asia Television, intervening in ATV's management and establishing cooperation between his company and institutions under the Chinese Ministry of Culture.
Between 1998 and 2003, the total number of laid-off workers nationwide reached 28.18 million, among which the three northeastern provinces accounted for a huge share, with workers in Liaoning, Heilongjiang and other places subjected to the buyout of their years of service.
Zhu Rongji replicated in the State Council Shanghai's approach to streamlining processes, cutting the number of ministries and commissions in half from 40; large numbers of cadres at division level and above were reassigned to the private sector or took early retirement, making the scale of personnel changes unprecedented.
During this period, China's blood donation rate per 1,000 people has remained between 1% and 1.2%, basically meeting the demand for blood in clinical medical care.