China poverty alleviation, raising standard of living

[TaiShang]

China's precision poverty relief strategy enlightens world
By Sun Tianren (People's Daily) February 28, 2017

Villagers harvest mushrooms in a development base of edible fungi in Chenluo village, Gao'an city, Jiangxi Province on February 23. The city government of Gao'an implements a targeted policy to equip each impoverished village with an industry that can alleviate residents from poverty. (Photo by Peng Songlin from People's Daily)

The "targeted poverty alleviation" strategy launched by China has not only managed to bring numerous Chinese people out of poverty, but has also provided enlightenment to other countries.

"We should not forget the fact that China has contributed the most in world poverty alleviation in the past decade," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in Munich, Germany. He added that in light of the fragile international environment, development is an important channel to prevent conflicts.

China, with an over 1.3 billion population, has lifted more people out of poverty than any other country in the world, and is one of the first countries which achieved the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Over the past three decades, more than 700 million people in China have been lifted out of poverty, accounting for more than 70 percent of the world's total. The number of impoverished people in rural areas was reduced to 55.75 million by 2015.

Chinese President Xi Jinping came up with the "targeted poverty reduction" strategy soon after assuming office, vowing to alleviate impoverished people in rural areas and poverty-stricken counties under the current standard by 2020. To realize the goal, China has established a 5-level responsibility pattern that covers provinces, cities, counties, townships and villages.

From 2013 to 2016, China has lifted more than 10 million people out of poverty every year, 55.64 million people in all. The living standard of rural residents in poverty-stricken areas has been improved greatly.

China's "targeted poverty reduction" strategy, to be more specific, means more targeted support subjects, proper project arrangement, precise capital allocation, exact policy implementation and personnel assignment as well as specific results, so that the benefits of each policy can be brought to the recipients themselves. No one should be left behind.

The strategy not only opened up a new landscape for China's poverty alleviation work, but offered enlightenment for other developing countries.

A series of initiatives proposed by Xi, including accelerating global poverty reduction, strengthening cooperation in poverty reduction, realizing diverse, independent and sustainable development and improving the global development environment have been embraced by the UN and developing countries.

China also takes an active part in launching South-South cooperation by providing assistance to other developing countries, especially the least developed countries to eliminate poverty. Over the past 60 years, China has offered nearly 400 billion yuan ($58.27 billion) and dispatched more than 600,000 aid personnel to 166 countries and international organizations, statistics indicated.

 

[TaiShang]

Uygur factory girl fights poverty from Great Hall of the People
(Xinhua) 13:21, March 04, 2017

BEIJING, March 4 -- "My family was so poor that I almost married a man just because his family promised to buy us a bicycle," said Rayhangvl Emir, a Uygur lawmaker from northwest China's Xinjiang Province.

Emir is responsible for poverty alleviation and employment in a township in Kashgar, one of China's most westerly cities. At only 28 years old, she is in Beijing to attend the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC), which opens Sunday.

Having been an NPC deputy for nearly five years, her proposals to past NPC sessions largely focused on employment and poverty alleviation, including one that led to the construction of a textile factory in her city, which will eventually employ 5,000 people.

This year, she will submit a proposal on vocational training in local city communities. Many Kashgar residents are not employed in factories and remain in poverty because they have no skills.

THE NINGBO CONNECTION

Emir had always wondered why some people were poor. Born in a small village in Akto County, she recalls walking to school in bare feet. She had no toys bought from a store and never even imagined such a thing.

Her life took a detour in 2007, when factory recruitment agents from Zhejiang Province came looking for workers.

Aspiring to a better life and naturally curious, she turned down the marriage proposal, and the bike, and went east to work in a textile factory in Ningbo with 40 others.

"The eyes of the villagers were filled with hate the day we left. No matter how hard life is, girls from my hometown are supposed to get married and work the fields with their husbands for the rest of their lives."

Her life in Ningbo was not easy at first. Neither she nor any of her fellows spoke much Mandarin and had none of the skills they needed for work. In only a few months, Emir was among the best workers in the factory, thanks mainly to the help and support of other workers who were also far from home.

"I earned about 4,000 yuan (580 U.S. dollars) a month," she said. "I was so happy. Back home, I had not been able to attend a college after graduation because my family could not afford the 5,000 yuan tuition."

Hearing of Emir's success, two of her elder brothers came to join her. With the money they made, the family built a brick house painted in brilliant blue and white, with 17 rooms, replacing the old three-room home made mainly of earth.

SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY

Emir came to believe she had a responsibility to help others find prosperity. With her assistance, about 1,800 people from her home county came to work in Ningbo and, in 2012, she returned to Xinjiang to attend a vocational college in capital Urumqi, choosing as her major translation between Mandarin and Uygur.

"Mandarin is a must for job hunting outside Xinjiang," Emir said, and her new language skills have greatly assisted her poverty reduction work.

In 2013, she was elected an NPC deputy while still a student. After graduation, she became a civil servant in Kashgar. "With my experiences, and as an NPC deputy and a township official, I can help more people," she said.

In addition to helping people find work in eastern provinces, Emir and the local government are helping companies set up local factories.

Compared with 10 years ago, huge changes have taken place in the region, be the infrastructure, the economy or living standards. In Kashgar, factories are springing up everywhere, and leaving home to find a job is no longer the only option.

Xinjiang's regional economy grew by 7.6 percent in 2016, 0.9 percentage points above the national rate. Disposable rural incomes grew 8 percent to reach 10,183 yuan.

According to Emir, local development took off after the second central work conference on Xinjiang in May 2014, when central authorities began spending more on education and enrolled more children in school, in addition to adopting more poverty reduction policies in rural and border areas.

In recent years, a program known as "pairing assistance" has allowed other provinces and municipalities to offer financial and personnel support to Xinjiang, building new infrastructure and funding local industry. About 1.74 million people have been taken out of poverty since 2011. Most villages now have electricity and running water and can be reached by paved roads.

Asked how she gets around in Kashgar, Emir responded with a smile: she and her husband bought a car last year.

 

[TaiShang]

Counties no longer in poverty can still benefit from favorable policies, development chief says
By Wang Xiaodong | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-03-05

"Impoverished counties" can still benefit from poverty-alleviation policies for a certain period after they have been lifted out poverty, Liu Yongfu, head of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, said on Sunday.

Extending favorable polices for these counties can help boost their development and prevent them from falling into poverty again, he said.

Some impoverished counties are reluctant to be graded as having been lifted out poverty by the Central government for fear they may lose favorable poverty-alienation policies, according to some media reports.

China has pledged to pull all people out of poverty by the end of 2020.

 

[ahojunk]

China's poverty eradication among the greatest human rights achievements: expert
By Zhang Mengxu (People's Daily) 14:00, March 05, 2017

Villagers from Guang’an, Sichuan province hold a housewarming banquet after they were
relocated to new houses before the Spring Festival this year. (Photo by People’s Daily)

China's poverty eradication is among the greatest human rights achievements, experts pointed out, dismissing voices smearing China’s human rights record at the 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

Discriminatory words concerning China’s human rights record are heard in almost every human rights session of the UN. It is believed some organizations and individuals with ulterior motives always turn a blind eye to China’s human rights progress, but make a judgment via blinkers.

However, over the past years, China has made great achievements in human rights undertakings. For instance, food and clothing are no longer a problem for the 1.3 billion Chinese people. Over the past three decades, over 700 million people have been lifted out of poverty, accounting for more than 70 percent of the global poverty reduction. China is the first country to have realized the Millennium Development Goal of halving its poor population.

At present, 770 million Chinese are employed and nine-year compulsory education has achieved universal coverage. Rights of 230 million senior residents and 85 million handicapped people are well protected, and the basic life of over 60 million low-income residents in urban and rural areas is supported by the government.

Prior to the founding of PRC in 1949, China's per capita life expectancy was only 35, and for now the number has been raised to 76. China is hailed by the UN as having the best record of improving life expectancy during the past three decades.

Tom Zwart, director of the Netherlands School of Human Rights Research, ranked China’s record of poverty relief among the greatest human rights achievements of all time. He didn’t hesitate to show his anger towards false speeches belittling China’s progress.

“I sincerely congratulate on the remarkable success of the CPC and Chinese government in eradicating poverty,” added Zwart, also a human rights professor with Utrecht University.

China has been actively engaged in international human rights cooperation based on the spirit of equality, mutual trust, inclusiveness, and mutual benefit, so as to push forward with a just and objective international human rights system.

In 2016, China was elected to the UN Human Rights Council by 180 votes, becoming one of a few countries which have sat in the Council for four times.

China has joined 26 international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and five other core human rights covenants. It also shoulders its international human rights responsibilities by accepting multiple human rights reviews.

In addition, China has held human rights dialogues and exchanges with almost 40 countries, launched technical cooperation on human rights with UN agencies, injecting great energy into global human rights governance.

Zamir Akram, chair-rapporteur of the Working Group on the Right to Development at the United Nations Human Rights Council, commented that China is the only social and economic entity that has ever achieved such a rapid development.

“Over 700 million Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty in such a short period,” he hailed, adding that the country also has offered big amount of aid to other developing countries.

 

[TaiShang]

China's poverty eradication among the greatest human rights achievements: expert
By Zhang Mengxu (People's Daily) 14:00, March 05, 2017

View attachment 381934
Villagers from Guang’an, Sichuan province hold a housewarming banquet after they were
relocated to new houses before the Spring Festival this year. (Photo by People’s Daily)

China's poverty eradication is among the greatest human rights achievements, experts pointed out, dismissing voices smearing China’s human rights record at the 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

Discriminatory words concerning China’s human rights record are heard in almost every human rights session of the UN. It is believed some organizations and individuals with ulterior motives always turn a blind eye to China’s human rights progress, but make a judgment via blinkers.

However, over the past years, China has made great achievements in human rights undertakings. For instance, food and clothing are no longer a problem for the 1.3 billion Chinese people. Over the past three decades, over 700 million people have been lifted out of poverty, accounting for more than 70 percent of the global poverty reduction. China is the first country to have realized the Millennium Development Goal of halving its poor population.

At present, 770 million Chinese are employed and nine-year compulsory education has achieved universal coverage. Rights of 230 million senior residents and 85 million handicapped people are well protected, and the basic life of over 60 million low-income residents in urban and rural areas is supported by the government.

Prior to the founding of PRC in 1949, China's per capita life expectancy was only 35, and for now the number has been raised to 76. China is hailed by the UN as having the best record of improving life expectancy during the past three decades.

Tom Zwart, director of the Netherlands School of Human Rights Research, ranked China’s record of poverty relief among the greatest human rights achievements of all time. He didn’t hesitate to show his anger towards false speeches belittling China’s progress.

“I sincerely congratulate on the remarkable success of the CPC and Chinese government in eradicating poverty,” added Zwart, also a human rights professor with Utrecht University.

China has been actively engaged in international human rights cooperation based on the spirit of equality, mutual trust, inclusiveness, and mutual benefit, so as to push forward with a just and objective international human rights system.

In 2016, China was elected to the UN Human Rights Council by 180 votes, becoming one of a few countries which have sat in the Council for four times.

China has joined 26 international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and five other core human rights covenants. It also shoulders its international human rights responsibilities by accepting multiple human rights reviews.

In addition, China has held human rights dialogues and exchanges with almost 40 countries, launched technical cooperation on human rights with UN agencies, injecting great energy into global human rights governance.

Zamir Akram, chair-rapporteur of the Working Group on the Right to Development at the United Nations Human Rights Council, commented that China is the only social and economic entity that has ever achieved such a rapid development.

“Over 700 million Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty in such a short period,” he hailed, adding that the country also has offered big amount of aid to other developing countries.

These are indeed immense achievements that are hard to appreciate the scale and scope, that is, the enormity of the task for any polity.

I think one of the many factors that contributed to this has been the high sense of public order and collective goodness.

Another factor is China's philosopher-statesman leadership who not only just govern technically, but also generate public discourses.

Think about President Xi's 'precision poverty elimination' idea.

 

[TaiShang]

Rural poor allowed to delay hospital fee payment
People's Daily Online, March 6, 2017

China's National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) issued a new guideline on March 2 allowing patients in poor rural areas to receive medical treatment without paying the treatment fees upfront. Provincial health and family planning administrative departments are required to finish the official plan by the end of March, and the program will be implemented before the end of April.

According to the program's description, only poor, rural patients who have basic medical insurance can take advantage of the favorable policy. Patients who do utilize the policy will receive their medical treatment in designated medical institutions around the county.

Hospitalized patients must meet strict requirements. They have to provide documents including a health insurance card, valid ID card and proof of their economic status before being admitted to any hospital. Patients can receive treatment after signing a "pay after treatment" agreement.

The program also offers flexible payment methods. When a patient is discharged from the hospital, the designated medical institution immediately subtracts the portion of the treatment fee covered by insurance from the patient's bill. The patient is only expected to pay for individual expenses, and the medical institution then returns the patient's documents in a timely manner. For those who cannot pay their treatment fees all at once, there is an option to pay in installments.

Another facet of the program requires the establishment of a county-level payment system for impoverished patients, which is intended to gradually promote the development of provincial and cross-provincial settlement systems.

The program will punish malicious debtors through a credit system. A blacklist of offenders will be maintained, and designated medical institutions have the right to stop favorable policy coverage for people on the list. They can also report the offenders to medical insurance departments.

 

[ahojunk]

Over 36 million Chinese students benefit from nutrition improvement program
By Zhang Shuo (People's Daily) 14:33, March 05, 2017

Children at a kindergarten in Dingwei county, Guizhou province are having their nutritional meals. A total of 181 pre-school children in the county, which is among the 20 poorest in the province, have been offered nutritional meals each day since the fall semester of last year. (Photo by People’s DailyOnline)

More than 36 million students from 134,000 primary and junior high schools in impoverished rural regions have benefited from China's nutrition improvement program since its implementation in 2011, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said recently.

The program was initially launched by the MOE, the Ministry of Finance, and 13 other departments on a pilot basis in a bid to address malnutrition of rural students receiving compulsory education.

It has so far reached 1,590 counties in 29 provinces, according to the progress report released by the MOE. Thanks to five years of efforts, the students have been freed from hunger malnutrition.

The Chinese Center For Disease Control And Prevention, after tracking the students in piloted areas, found that children who benefited from the program are taller and heavier than the rural average.

Data shows that from 2012 to 2015, male students on average increased in height and weight by 1.2 cm and 0.7 kg respectively while female students increased by 1.4 cm and 0.8 kg.

In the given period, anaemia rates dropped to 7.8 percent from 17 percent. Better nutrition has also aided their efficiency and enthusiasm for their studies.

Since the plan was launched in 2011, nearly 160 billion yuan in subsidies were allocated to support the national plan, reward piloted areas, improve students’ meals and subsidize impoverished children.

 

[TaiShang]

Xi: Keep poverty-reduction promises
By AN BAIJIE | China Daily | Updated: 2017-03-09

President Xi Jinping receives qianghong, a piece of silk used as a gift of greeting by the Qiang ethnic group, from an NPC deputy who is a member of the group as he joined a discussion with NPC deputies from Sichuan province on Wednesday in Beijing. Lan Hongguang / Xinhua


The country's poverty alleviation work is facing tougher challenges with the approach of the 2020 deadline for its ambitious poverty-eradication plan, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday, while calling on officials to make greater efforts to help poverty-stricken people.

The Communist Party of China has made a solemn promise to lift all remaining poverty-stricken people out of that status by the end of 2020, said Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Xi made the remarks at a panel discussion with lawmakers from Sichuan province during the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress, the top legislature. Mountainous Sichuan, with many ethnic groups, has 3.8 million people living in poverty.

By a standard set in 2011, China categorizes those with an annual income lower than 2,300 yuan ($335) as poverty-stricken.

The number of people living in poverty in rural areas was reduced by 12.4 million last year to 43.35 million. The government will lift another 10 million people out of poverty this year, according to the Government Work Report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday.

The whole process of poverty reduction requires tailored poverty relief policies and precision measures, and sometimes patience and accuracy like "doing embroidery", Xi said.

The government should continue to dispatch officials to live in poor rural villages to focus on the poverty reduction work there, Xi said, adding that the authorities should make full use of poverty alleviation funds.

The president called for continuous measures to prevent those who have already escaped poverty from falling into that status again. Formalism should be stopped resolutely in poverty reduction work, he emphasized.

During the discussion, Xi also urged local authorities to push forward with supply-side structural reform in agriculture, improve quality and produce more green, organic and pollution-free farm products.

The integration of military and civil industries should speed up, Xi said, adding that a high-tech industry base should be built for military-civil integration.

The president also stressed the importance of clean governance. Government officials should stick to their beliefs, safeguard the authority and leadership of the CPC Central Committee and abide by political discipline and rules.

During the talks, the lawmakers gave their suggestions on issues including pushing forward reform, reconstruction work after the 2013 earthquake and Tibetan inhabitants' livelihoods.

 

[JSCh]

China provides public housing to 10 million in 2016
gbtimes Beijing
2017/03/16

​

China has made efforts in recent years to provide housing to low-income families and individuals. (Photo: China News Service)

10 million economically disadvantaged individuals and families were granted access to public rental housing in China in 2016, the Ministry of Housing have announced.

Minister Chen Zhenggao stated on Wednesday that the government had always attached great importance to the housing needs of low-income groups and that efforts had been made to promote the construction of public rental housing, China News Service reported.

Through the system, low-income groups such as new graduates and migrant workers who tend to have difficulties renting houses can apply for public housing offering rent well below the general market price.

"Besides the public housing, government subsidies will also be provided for those qualified to make their renting easier", Chen added. "It will raise efficiency and broaden coverage."

China has made significant efforts in recent years to provide better housing for citizens; such as the 60,000 non-investment houses provided by Beijing authorities at roughly 30 percent below market level.

Shanghai has introduced a shared ownership housing policy, which has now provided 89,000 houses to locals.

 

[AndrewJin]

China provides public housing to 10 million in 2016
gbtimes Beijing
2017/03/16

​

China has made efforts in recent years to provide housing to low-income families and individuals. (Photo: China News Service)

10 million economically disadvantaged individuals and families were granted access to public rental housing in China in 2016, the Ministry of Housing have announced.

Minister Chen Zhenggao stated on Wednesday that the government had always attached great importance to the housing needs of low-income groups and that efforts had been made to promote the construction of public rental housing, China News Service reported.

Through the system, low-income groups such as new graduates and migrant workers who tend to have difficulties renting houses can apply for public housing offering rent well below the general market price.

"Besides the public housing, government subsidies will also be provided for those qualified to make their renting easier", Chen added. "It will raise efficiency and broaden coverage."

China has made significant efforts in recent years to provide better housing for citizens; such as the 60,000 non-investment houses provided by Beijing authorities at roughly 30 percent below market level.

Shanghai has introduced a shared ownership housing policy, which has now provided 89,000 houses to locals.

Exciting news

 

[TaiShang]

Exciting news

A program that Taiwan province desperately needs. The rents in big cities are really killing new graduates/young people if they are not lucky enough to have property/money inherited from/provided by parents.

 

[AndrewJin]

A program that Taiwan province desperately needs. The rents in big cities are really killing new graduates/young people if they are not lucky enough to have property/money inherited from/provided by parents.

Another thing can be learned is the extremely cheap apartment on campus provided to students as well as uni research fellows. 800-1500 yuan per year!

 

[Dungeness]

China provides public housing to 10 million in 2016
gbtimes Beijing
2017/03/16

​

China has made efforts in recent years to provide housing to low-income families and individuals. (Photo: China News Service)

10 million economically disadvantaged individuals and families were granted access to public rental housing in China in 2016, the Ministry of Housing have announced.

Minister Chen Zhenggao stated on Wednesday that the government had always attached great importance to the housing needs of low-income groups and that efforts had been made to promote the construction of public rental housing, China News Service reported.

Through the system, low-income groups such as new graduates and migrant workers who tend to have difficulties renting houses can apply for public housing offering rent well below the general market price.

"Besides the public housing, government subsidies will also be provided for those qualified to make their renting easier", Chen added. "It will raise efficiency and broaden coverage."

China has made significant efforts in recent years to provide better housing for citizens; such as the 60,000 non-investment houses provided by Beijing authorities at roughly 30 percent below market level.

Shanghai has introduced a shared ownership housing policy, which has now provided 89,000 houses to locals.

This is indeed an unmatched achievement by any country, developing or developed.

 

[TaiShang]

China earmarks new poverty-relief relocation funds
(Xinhua) 19:33, March 16, 2017

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the top economic planner, announced Thursday that it had allocated 18.9 billion yuan (about 2.74 billion U.S. dollars) in relocation funds as part of its poverty reduction drive.

It was the first batch of such funds to be earmarked by the central government this year. The money will go toward accommodation projects for 2.43 million people who will be relocated from under developed regions to more developed areas, said the NDRC.

The NDRC urged efforts to guarantee the efficient use of the funds.

China has vowed to lift all of its poor out of poverty by 2020, and alleviating poverty through relocation is one part of the strategy.

Last year alone, 2.49 million people living in poverty were relocated, meeting the target for the year.

Governments at all levels rolled out relocation projects spanning housing and infrastructure when exploring supportive industries for the relocated people.

According to a government work report delivered at the annual parliamentary session earlier this month, China aims to reduce the number of rural residents living in poverty by more than 10 million in 2017, including 3.4 million to be relocated from inhospitable areas.

 

[ahojunk]

Number of people in poverty decrease from 122.38 million in 2011 to to 43.35 million in 2016