Beijing vows to get tough in war on poverty
Stricter assessments promised in bid to build more affluent China by 2020
Beijing has promised the strictest assessments yet to make sure that its poverty alleviation policies are effective, and warned against irregularities such as the manipulation of figures.
Poverty reduction is a key policy aim for the Communist Party and the central government. The official goal is to eliminate poverty, defined as annual income of less than 2,300 yuan (HK$2,600), and build a “moderately affluent society” by 2020.
The party has promised to use all available resources to wipe out poverty, a goal that was written into the 13th Five Year Plan. It has set important targets for the country by 2020.
In a meeting with National People’s Congress (NPC) deputies from Liaoning province on Tuesday, President Xi Jinping said poverty alleviation work must be solid and that measures should be taken to prevent officials from manipulating the relevant figures.
A strict system had been developed to assess whether each province reached its poverty alleviation target, said Liu Yongfu, director of the State Council’s leading group office of poverty alleviation and development, at a media briefing on the sidelines of the NPC session in Beijing.
Liu said that independent assessments by academics, funded entirely by the central government, had been arranged.
He said that about 1,300 academics were involved in the programme last year, and that 1,700 had been designated this year to go to households in villages, to make evaluations and identify problems.
Authorities had also arranged for government employees to make assessments in areas outside their home provinces after drawing lots. These would be made in addition to evaluations based on figures from the National Bureau of Statistics and the leading group office, Liu said.
“The assessment has been complete since before the Lunar New Year, and we have found many problems that need to be addressed as well as some good news,” Liu said.
According to government figures from last year, the mainland has more than 55 million people in rural areas who are living below the poverty line.
Premier Li Keqiang said in his work report on Sunday that 12 million people were lifted out of poverty last year, and that another 10 million would be taken off the rolls this year.
