SUZHOU, Jiangsu, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- A senior civil affairs official hailed marked progress in public services in China's nationwide communities here Monday and urged further improvement to meet the demand of the public.

    Li Xueju, minister of the Civil Affair Ministry, made the remarks when addressing a national meeting on building harmonious communities.

    Community is the basic unit of the society, and harmonious community is the foundation for a harmonious society, Li said.

    He said by the end of 2008 there were more than 20,000 community health service stations, 34,000 stations for cultural-related services, and about 67,000 community-based labor and social security working organizations.

    There were also 61,000 police service stations, 70,000 mediation stations and 55,000 legal assistance stations, plus tens of thousands of other services facilities such as charity supermarkets and services stations handling residents' complaints, Li said.

    "With these various types of service stations, many issues concerning the livelihood of local residents have been properly resolved," Li said.

    The number of volunteer organizations for community service has reached 430,000, with more than 26 million registered volunteers, Li added. "The number of community volunteers is still increasing," Li said.

    "Many communities have also recruited professional personnel, who played key roles in providing services concerning psychological consultation and legal assistance, among others," Lisaid.