For poverty relief during the years 1994-2000, China put a total of
43.25 billion yuan into her predominantly
ethnic
minority impoverished areas in Inner Mongolia, Guangxi Zhuang,
Tibet, Ningxia Hui and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions in
addition to Guizhou, Yunnan and Qinghai provinces.
As
things now stand in these areas, there has been a drop in the
number of impoverished people to 14 million from 45 million in
1999. Farmers in these areas have come to claim an annual
per-capita income of 1255.43 yuan to show a growth of 210 percent,
pointing to the fact that poverty-relief work has made positive
achievements in the impoverished ethnic minority areas in
China.
That is what has been learned from the 17th Session of the 9th
NPC Nationalities Committee called lately in Beijing, present
at which was Tomur Dawamat, vice chairman of the NPC Standing
Committee.
Lu
Feijie, director of Poverty-Relief Office of the
State Council, made a report to the session on poverty-relief
and development work carried out in the impoverished ethnic
minority areas.
He
said that during the 1994-2000 poverty-relief period government
poverty-relief fund had been used primarily in 257 impoverished
ethnic minority counties out of the country's 592 major
impoverished counties and special funds had even been allocated
depending on local difficulties and demands raised.
Meanwhile, international support has been sought to help out and to
this end, a total of US$610 million have been obtained from the World Bank. Ten western
provinces and regions had been backed with help from 9 eastern
coastal provinces and 4 self-administered cities. By now, against
an obvious decrease in the number of poor people there has been a
fast increase of income by farmers and a marked improvement of
people's life and infrastructure construction in the impoverished
ethnic minority areas in China
But for various reasons poverty still poses a serious problem in
the ethnic minority areas, said Lu. This is because a low income by
a large number of impoverished people, making up as much as 36.5
percent of the country's living in utter poverty. Of these, a 6.5
percent relapse was even noted though having been helped out of
poverty. Social development and education is still at a low
undeveloped level. Illiteracy stands at over 30 percent.
There is nearly no infrastructure construction, no access of modern
traffic and electricity to speak of for poor natural conditions
vulnerable to various disasters. But a change, as is demanded, will
be made to this impoverished state of things and increased funds
will be provided by the state in support of economic development in
the impoverished ethnic minority areas, he said.
Various views were aired and many suggestions made through a full
discussion of the report. A consensus reached is that the stress of
poverty-relief work in the years to come in China will be put on
its impoverished ethnic minority areas because of their economic
significance and political importance. Serious efforts will be made
to see to it that the country's impoverished ethnic minority areas
be helped out of their long-standing poverty in the way gaps
between the undeveloped ethnic minority areas and developed regions
are to be greatly narrowed at an early date, Lu said.
( October 22, 2001)