NEWLY ARRIVED MIGRANT WORKERS SIT IN FRONT OF THE TIANANMEN GATE, 2000-03-04 (photo)

Chinese men, who identified themselves as newly arrived migrant workers from Sichuan province, sit with their belongings in front of the Tiananmen Gate in central Beijing March 4. Millions of migrant workers from backward inland provinces are surging towards prosperous coastal cities for jobs every year. Plans to bolster the development of western provinces will be one of the main focus of this year's National People's Congress, or parliament, which opens its annual session on March 5. Lawmakers and politicians who represent western provinces are urging the central government to speed up a "go west" programme which may turn their provinces into China's next growth engine. ASW/DL