Home / News Type Content Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read | Comment
Very Best Efforts to Support the Poor
Adjust font size:
China introduced a new system of minimum living standards in 1993. As implementation of the policy has been rolled out, there have been many challenges and much change to be faced. Wang Zhenyao is director of the Department of Disaster and Poverty Relief in the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He was interviewed by the weekly publication Sanlian Shenghuo Zhoukan.

Sanlian: How many people benefit from the minimum living standards guaranteed by the system?

Wang Zhenyao: Currently the number is 20 million but this is expected to increase by several millions. One reason for the increase is that central government is going to amend the method of determining income. In future it will be based only on actual income received rather than including payments due but not yet paid as at present.

For example, some enterprises have been eight months late in paying their employees’ salaries and 30 months in arrears is not unknown. Of course the money belongs to the employees but the fact of the matter is they may never get paid.

The new standard says that employees who’ve not been paid for six months will, after due investigation by the relevant civil affairs authorities, be considered as having lost the money. In Shanxi Province alone this will bring a further 300,000 people into the financial safety net. Implementing the updated central policy will also give as many as 4 million laid-offs new access to the system.

Sanlian: What are the changes to the relief policies for the urban poor?

Wang Zhenyao: There are more than 19 million laid-off workers at the minimum living standard. However those who are most in need of assistance, because they are disabled and have no income and no family to support them, number some 900,000, representing just 5 percent of the total.

Previously it was the units that carried the responsibility to help the poor. This was an inefficient system resulting in low incomes and over-staffing. Incomes may have been evenly distributed but individual workloads were not.

With the low economic standards that were the norm at the time, the phenomenon of poverty could go unnoticeable. But now the expectations of a market economy mean it’s time for society to take over the job of providing for the poor.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs started to implement the new system of safeguards in Shanghai in 1993 when bankruptcy led to hundreds of thousands of textile workers being laid-off.

Implementing the policy across the whole country was to prove no easy task and by 1997 there were still only some 200 cities with the measures fully in place. So following a working conference at Beidaihe, central government then urged that the measures should have been put in place right across the country by 1999.

Alongside the implementation of the policy, there have been calls for even further efforts to provide real support for those on minimum living standards. The next goal aimed at putting the finishing touches to the system is to make arrangements to provide poor urban families with access to such services as medical treatment, education and housing.

Sanlian: How has implementation of the minimum living standards policy been pursued?

Wang Zhenyao: We asked the various departments to give this their very best efforts. By June 2002 local governments generally had the support mechanisms in place.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs has also established a database. This holds such details as the name and ID number of the head of each family together with contact details.

(China.org.cn, translated by Li Xiao, February 6, 2003)

Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read
Comment
Pet Name
Anonymous
China Archives
Related >>
- Chinese Farmers Shake off Poverty by Developing Localized Industries
- Figures and Facts: China's Farmers Lead a Better-off Life
- Congress Likely to Discuss Xiaokang
- Curbing Poverty: A Long-term Mission in China
- Top Leaders Discuss Strategies to Help the Poor
- Poverty Relief Work Gathers Pace
Most Viewed >>
- World's longest sea-spanning bridge to open
- Yao out for season with stress fracture in left foot
- 141 seriously polluting products blacklisted
- China starts excavation for world's first 3G nuclear plant
- 'The China Riddle'
- Irresponsible remarks on Hu Jia case opposed 
- China, US agree to step up constructive,cooperative relations
- 3 dead in south China school killing
- Factory fire kills 15, injures 3 in Shenzhen
- McDonald's turns to feng shui

Product Directory
China Search
Country Search
Hot Buys
主站蜘蛛池模板: 蜜桃精品免费久久久久影院| 国内不卡一二三四区| 国产婷婷一区二区三区| 东北鲜肉痞帅玩xvideos| 美女美女高清毛片视频| 在线播放国产视频| 久久午夜电影网| 狠狠综合视频精品播放| 国产国产精品人在线观看| 9久热精品免费观看视频| 日韩丰满少妇无码内射| 亚洲综合校园春色| 草草影院国产第一页| 国产麻豆流白浆在线观看| 一本大道一卡二大卡三卡免费 | 欧美激情第1页| 四虎成人精品免费影院| 老司机亚洲精品影视www| 岛国在线免费观看| 久操视频在线免费观看| 特区爱奴在线观看| 国产一级毛片免| 金8国欧美系列在线| 国产自在线观看| 中国人免费观看高清在线观看二区| 日韩人妻精品一区二区三区视频 | 色综合天天综合中文网| 国产婷婷色一区二区三区| 亚洲丝袜第一页| 天天躁天天碰天天看| 久久久久人妻一区精品色欧美| 欧美性猛交xxxx乱大交蜜桃| 加勒比黑人在线| 香港三日本8A三级少妇三级99| 国产色婷婷精品免费视频| 一级毛片在线播放| 日韩午夜免费论理电影网| 亚洲av专区无码观看精品天堂| 爽爽日本在线视频免费| 先锋影音av资源网| 国产成人福利免费视频|