China poverty alleviation, raising standard of living

[JSCh]

White paper says incidence of poverty in Xinjiang no more than 10 pct
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-01 16:00:52|Editor: Xiang Bo



BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- A white paper issued by China's State Council Information Office on Thursday said the incidence of poverty had dropped to 10 percent or less by the end of 2016 in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

According to the white paper titled "Human Rights in Xinjiang - Development and Progress," Xinjiang has implemented targeted and effective measures in poverty alleviation, and further improvement has been made in the quality of life and daily living conditions of the impoverished.

The white paper said southern Xinjiang has been taken as the focus of the poverty-relief program, with more funds and more social resources directed to the area.

Over the years, Xinjiang has maintained a constant focus on economic development. It ensures that all the people share the fruits of development, and effectively protects the various economic rights of citizens, it read.

Since the launch of China's reform and opening-up drive in 1978, Xinjiang's GDP has soared from 3.9 billion yuan (about 570 million U.S. dollars) to 961.7 billion yuan in 2016.

In the same period, the per-capita disposable income of urban residents rose from 319 yuan to 28,463 yuan and that of rural residents from 119 yuan to 10,183 yuan.

Meanwhile, the Engel coefficient of urban households decreased from 57.3 percent in 1980 to 29.1 percent in 2016; that of rural households from 60 percent to 31.7 percent.

The white paper said the autonomous region has directed a considerable effort to infrastructure construction in tap water, power and gas.

It added that Xinjiang has also given priority to promoting equal employment opportunities, and encouraged different sectors to create more jobs.

At the end of 2016, the region's registered urban unemployment rate was 3.22 percent, with 455,000 new jobs created in urban areas over the course of the year.

Efforts were made to develop vocational education, and a long-term mechanism was set up to ensure that every family has at least one member in work.

 

[TaiShang]

Plants sew the fabric of change in China's Xinjiang
By Cao Yin | China Daily | Updated: 2017-06-02

A worker fixes a thread on the production line at Huafu Top Dyed Melange Yarn Co in Aksu, a southern city in the Xinjiang region. Photo By Zhu Xingxin / China Daily

Efforts to grow textile industry and attract startups are providing employment for impoverished ethnic communities. Cao Yin reports from Aksu, Xinjiang.

Nurgul Islam removed the white face mask covering her mouth and wiped the sweat from her eyes. "I used to be anxious about the future," she shouted as banks of sewing machines roared around her, "but this job has set me free."

The 21-year-old works in quality control for Ke Ning Textile Technology Co's sock factory in Aksu, a city in the Xinjiang Province.

Before she was hired last year, Islam said she felt lost. "I had nothing to do, and I didn't know what I could do." She had not long graduated from an Aksu vocational school with a certificate in kindergarten teaching, yet she had no desire to return to her native Kartal, an impoverished township more than 50 kilometers away.

Fortunately, she was recruited by Ke Ning through a cooperation agreement Kartal signed with the city's textile enterprises. "Now I'm paid 3,500 yuan ($520) a month, and I see hope in the plant, which I couldn't in my village," she said.

Xinjiang produces more than 60 percent of China's commercial cotton, and Aksu is one of the biggest cultivation areas. In 2010, the city established the Textile Industrial Center, where 64 enterprises from across China have opened production lines, not only to to save on labor costs, but to create job opportunities for the region's ethnic groups.

President Xi Jinping said in 2014 that fighting terrorism and religious extremism should be a top priority for Xinjiang, and boosting employment is seen by the authorities as key to regional security and stability.

The industrial center, which has clothing factories and weaving mills, has created more than 32,000 jobs, including 18,000 on production lines, according to Liu Yong, one of its directors. More than 95 percent of workers are from ethnic groups, and most are age 20to 35, he said.

"We're planning to set up more workshops in counties, towns and villages to provide more employment for people further out," Liu added.

Family business

The biggest employer on the Asku industrial park is Huafu Top Dyed Melange Yarn Co, which is headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. Over the past three years, it has hired more than 2,300 locals, and the number is expected to increase to 4,000 by the end of this year, said Li Jiansheng, its administrative manager.

The company has five workshops across Xinjiang - Aksu is the largest-and employs more than 5,000 workers in total, he said, adding that the number could reach 12,000 by 2020.

"We provide our workers with textile skills and security training," Li said. "Training for basic positions takes about 10 days, but it will take longer for more complicated roles."

For workers with no experience with textiles or cotton, or unable to speak Mandarin, the company arranges for them to study at its on-site school, where classes are taught by senior workers fluent in Mandarin and Uygur.

All expenses, including meals and accommodation, are covered by the company during the training period.

Adila Amut, 18, started working at the Aksu yarn factory seven months ago, after almost a year of being taught how to spin rough and heavy cord into the fine thread used by sewing machines.

She said she got the job to help her family. "I earn about 2,000 yuan ($290) a month, which covers my younger brother's school fees," she said. "My parents don't have much land, so they can't earn much from farming."

Her colleague, Padam Yassen, 43, is also using her salary to pay for school for her two younger sisters. Her higher income has meant her family can afford to leave the countryside and move into an apartment in Aksu.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2017-06/02/content_29587825.htm

 

[TaiShang]

Before and after photos: 5 years of poverty alleviation efforts in Guangxi
China Plus | 2017-06-05 06:54

Meng Rouyu, now a junior high school girl, waves in the fields on May 7, 2017 (R) and herself on July 16, 2012 in Nongyong village of Dahua county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Meng's family has moved into a three-story house and Meng now is interested in singing and dancing. Children living in poverty-stricken mountainous region in Guangxi have witnessed their lives turn brand new in the past seven years, with their basic needs for life and school satisfied thanks to poverty alleviation efforts of the local government there. [Photo/Xinhua]

A combined photo shows Lan Guofeng, 13, riding on a road to play basketball at school on May 7, 2017 (L) and children climbing on mountain after school on July 4, 2012 in Nongyong village of Dahua county. Smooth rural highways and nutritious subsidized school lunches are two big improvements in the last 5 years.[Photo/Xinhua]

Photo shows Meng Fusong, a school boy, wearing a sports shoe on May 21, 2017 (L) and Meng's bare foot on Sept 5, 2012 in Nonglei village.[Photo/Xinhua]

A combined photo shows Qin Fu, 12, playing a game on May 18, 2017 (L) and himself on May 3, 2012 at Nongliang Primary School in Dahua township of Dahua county.[Photo/Xinhua]

A combined photo shows Lan Xiaoshuai playing with his bicycle on Jan 25, 2017 (L) and himself on July 16, 2012 in Nongyong village.[Photo/Xinhua]

Photo shows children walking on a cement road for school on Jan 11, 2017 (L) and children climbing down a wooden ladder for school on Sept 3, 2012 in Nongyong village of Dahua county.[Photo/Xinhua]

A combined photo shows Meng Weiyi, 10, trying a camera on May 17, 2017 (L) and himself herding sheep on July 16, 2012 in Nongyong village.[Photo/Xinhua]

Wei Xiaomei, 14, using an electric lamp on May 13, 2017 (L) and Wei's brother Wei Fuxi using an oil lamp at home on May 14, 2010 in Haokun village of Lingyun county. According to official statistics, the total number of people living under China's poverty line in Guangxi dropped to 3.41 million in 2016 from 10.12 million in 2010.[Photo/Xinhua]

Photo shows children playing table tennis on Dec 10, 2015 (L) and on Dec 27, 2012 at Nonglei Primary School in Bansheng township of Dahua county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.[Photo/Xinhua]

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2017-06/05/content_29612771_9.htm

Amazing newsmaking on an amazing progress.

@AndrewJin , @cirr , @Shotgunner51 , @JSCh , @Raphael

 

[MultaniGuy]

Congratulations to China.

 

[Raphael]

@TaiShang

I loved the air and environment of GuangXi when I visited. Simply beautiful. As they develop, I hope they can still preserve that.

 

[TaiShang]

@TaiShang

I loved the air and environment of GuangXi when I visited. Simply beautiful. As they develop, I hope they can still preserve that.

I have not been there, but, I feel that West of China is developing on a different basis than China's traditional industrial Eastern region. Judging by @AndrewJin 's thread on Guizhou, government encourages new industries that are more in line with the ecological characteristics of the regions.

 

[JSCh]

China speeds up on reducing poverty caused by medical bills
gbtimes Beijing
2017/06/09

Chinese healthcare department set up new targets on Thursday to prevent people from being impoverished by high medical costs resulting from major diseases. (Photo: China News Service)

China's healthcare department set up new targets on Thursday to prevent people from being impoverished by high medical costs resulting from major diseases.

Li Bin, head of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, pledged during yesterday's National Poverty Alleviation conference held in Chengdu that every seriously-ill rural patient would be assured proper treatment by 2020, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Most medical bills will be covered by a government fund and Li noted that the rate of actual medical expenses compensation for poverty-stricken patients reached close to 68 percent in 2016.

People and their families falling below the poverty line due to paying medical bills have become a large proportion of the Chinese poverty population. Public statistics show that the poverty population in China caused by disease accounted for 42.2 percent of the total in 2013, with the rate rising to 44.1 percent in 2015.

"Not a single one will be left behind," Li stressed. "The realisation of that goal is critical to the success of the overall national poverty relief campaign."

The central government has set up goals to eradicate poverty by 2020 with more than 42 million people still poverty stricken in Chinese rural areas.


China speeds up on reducing poverty caused by medical bills | gbtimes.com

 

[JSCh]

Across China: Fighting poverty in China's poorest villages
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 19:40:06|Editor: An



CHANGSHA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- At 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Hu Piyu woke up and made himself a bowl of instant noodles for breakfast. As the leader of an anti-poverty work group stationed in Hangka Village in central China's Hunan Province, he had a full day ahead.

In addition to his typical routine of visiting some low-income households, he planned to check on infrastructure projects and a new farm in the village and to discuss poverty reduction policies with village cadres.

Hangka is one of the poorest villages in the area, with an annual per capita income of less than 2,000 yuan (290 U.S. dollars) and nearly 40 percent of its 1,100 residents still living below the poverty line as of the end of 2014.

Five years ago on June 14, the Chinese central government targeted 14 extremely poor regions across China that would become the country's main battlefields in its war on poverty. More than 500,000 officials at almost all levels have since been sent to live in villages, fighting poverty alongside villagers.

There are 6,924 villages in Hunan alone that urgently need poverty relief assistance. A work team of three to five officials is assigned to a village, and each villager is assigned an official to help them eliminate poverty.

A VILLAGE TRANSFORMED

Before assuming his post in January 2015, Hu was deputy director in charge of government receptions in the city, and had no experience in poverty relief. In order to win the trust of the local people, he has visited them repeatedly to learn about their needs and wishes.

He also applied for poverty alleviation funds to improve village infrastructure. Villagers' incomes have been boosted by an agricultural cluster for cultivating pepper, kiwi fruit, yellow peaches and tobacco and raising black swine.

Thanks to the funds Hu has raised, the village now has a photovoltaic power plant, new irrigation system, tap water, street lighting and Internet access, greatly improving local living standards. About 150 villagers from 35 households in the remotest parts of the village moved into new homes in the beginning of the year.

The village is not the only thing that has been transformed. Hu said he has lost weight -- dropping from 90 kg two years ago to 75 kg today -- as he has spent an average of 24 days a month working in the village.

BLENDING IN

By noon, Song Min and his team members had already visited four low-income families in Ranglie Village, a Miao ethnic village not far from Hangka.

In his notebook, Song scribbled down suggestions from local villagers and his own thoughts.

"This is my fourth notebook since I became an anti-poverty official here," he said.

The Miao people have a strong sense of their culture and land, which has sometimes made his job difficult. After eight months of trying, Song's team was unable to acquire land for a multi-purpose venue for the village.

To help blend in, Song brings a bottle of local liquor and a kilogram of salted pork to local villagers' houses almost every night.

"Villagers here are fond of drinking. If you don't drink a glass or two in their home, they will think you are not sincere enough," he said.

After two months, local people began to accept the provincial official as one of their own. Even the most senior villagers warmly greet him in the Miao language whenever they meet.

"Every decision is made after full discussion with villagers, taking their advice into consideration. When they feel assured that we are doing things for them with all our heart, they will accept us unconditionally," Song said.

His efforts to get to know the villagers have paid off. Last year, it took just a month for Song's team to acquire land for a photovoltaic power plant.

"The village's industrial park is being built. All infrastructure projects have been completed. My priority now is to train village cadres well before I go back, leaving an anti-poverty work team that never quits," said Song, who was tanned from the sun and wearing ethnic dress, just like his fellow villagers.

BUILDING TRUST

As dusk approached, Xiao Shijun finished a day's work of visiting households in Shuiyuan Village in another poor part of Hunan, where he leads anti-poverty work.

As soon as he got some rest, he began typing briefs for the day and work plans for the next day on his cellphone. Saved on his phone was a to-do list with hundreds of entries: "Huang Qiusheng has weak eyesight and lives by himself across the river, please visit him every day; Zhou Wanhua suffers from an acute cerebral hemorrhage and receives treatment in a city hospital, please raise medical fees for him...."

Xiao's eyesight has suffered due to habitual cellphone use during twisting, bumpy car rides along mountain roads. He closed his eyes for a moment of rest as he felt dizzy. But in his mind, he was still worried about a local villager who had just been diagnosed with cancer.

"Many villagers have slipped into poverty again due to disease or natural disasters. I was born and raised a village boy, and came into contact with poor people after I worked in a government petition office. I can feel their pain and worries," Xiao said.

Thanks to the hard work of Hu, Song, Xiao and hundreds of thousands of officials like them, more than 10 million rural residents succeeded in pulling themselves out of poverty every year from 2013 to 2016.

After supper, Xiao walked to the village secretary's home for a casual talk, mainly about poor households.

"Pressure used to come from the distrust of fellow villagers. Now it comes from their total trust in us," he said. He cannot let them down.

 

[MULUBJA]

China has made a great economic progress in last few years and when a country grow economically, the benefit of economic growth automatically percolates to the people of bottom level in wealth pyramid. So this has happened with china and this phenomenon will further strengthen in future.

 

[TaiShang]

What has China achieved in improving people's livelihoods?
By Wu Xiaobo | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-06-22 06:47


A job fair is held in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, Feb 11, 2017. [Photo/Asianewsphoto.com]

China added more than 13 million jobs every year from 2013 to 2016 and kept the urban unemployment rate stable at about 5 percent, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. The number of migrant workers increased 1.8 percent annually in the period.


A woman buys sweets at a supermarket in Zouping county, Shandong province, Jan 26, 2017. [Photo/Asianewsphoto.com]

Chinese residents' per capita disposable income reached 23,821 yuan ($3,488) in 2016, an increase of 7,311 yuan ($1,071) from 2012, which translated into an average annual growth of 7.4 percent.

The per capita disposable income of urban residents was 33,616 yuan in 2016, up 9,489 yuan from 2012. The annual growth rate averaged 6.5 percent.

The per capita disposable income of rural residents increased by 3,974 yuan to 12,363 yuan during the same period, an average annual growth of 8 percent.


Visitors pose at a glass-bottomed bridge in a scenic spot in Pingjiang county, Hunan province, May 27, 2015. [Photo/Asianewsphoto.com]

The per capita consumption expenditure reached 17,111 yuan in 2016, an increase of 4,255 yuan, or an annual average growth of 7.4 percent from 2012.

The consumption structure has upgraded rapidly. Expenditures on transportation and communication rose 2 percentage points from 2012. Expenditures on education, culture and entertainment increased 0.7 percentage points while medical services and health spending picked up 1.3 percentage points.

Car ownership per 100 households was 27.7 units in 2016, an increase of 63.9 percent from 2013. The number of domestic tourists totaled 4.44 billion in 2016, an increase of 50.2 percent from 2012. The number of outbound tourists amounted to 122 million, surging 46.7 percent.


The local government in Suichuan, Jiangxi province, encourages farmers to develop agricultural sightseeing by planting chrysanthemums, which plays a positive role in helping them get out of poverty. [Photo/Asianewsphoto.com]

The number of impoverished people in rural areas was 43.35 million in 2016, down 55.64 million from 2012, which means nearly 14 million people were lifted out of poverty every year, on average.

The rate of poverty was cut to 4.5 percent, down 5.7 percentage points from 2012. The average per capita disposable income of rural residents in impoverished areas stood at 8,452 yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 10.7 percent from 2012.


A senior citizen shows his social security card in Laibin city, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Feb 3, 2017. [Photo/Asianewsphoto.com]

As of the end of 2016, the number of people covered by basic pension insurance increased by 99.81 million from that in the end of 2012. The number of people covered by urban basic medical insurance rose by 207.51 million, and those on unemployment, work-related injury and maternity insurance grew by 28.64 million, 28.79 million and 30.22 million, respectively during the same period.


Beijing Film Academy students pose for graduation photos in Beijing, July 2, 2015. [Photo/Asianewsphoto.com]

The average years of schooling for people at or above the age of 15 increased from 9.05 in 2010 to 9.42 in 2015.

The nine-year compulsory education has been made universal. The gross enrollment ratio in higher education reached 42.7 percent in 2016, up 12.7 percentage points from 2012.

The country has constantly improved facilities of schools engaged in compulsory education in impoverished areas since 2013. It has scrapped tuition and miscellaneous fees for rural high school students from impoverished families since 2016.

The basic pension benefits for enterprise retirees were hiked for the 12th straight year since 2005. There has been solid progress in the integration of urban and rural basic medical insurance. By 2015, personal expenditures on medical services had declined to 29.3 percent of total expenses.


A nurse records patients' conditions at an intensive care unit in a hospital in Rong'an county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, May 12, 2017. [Photo/Asianewsphoto.com]

By the end of 2016, China had 983,000 medical and health institutions nationwide, which included 29,000 hospitals, an increase of 6,000 from 2012. It had 8.45 million medical personnel, up 1.78 million from 2012. The number of beds in medical and health institutions rose from 4.24 to 5.27 per 1,000 people.

The average life expectancy grew from 74.83 years in 2010 to 76.34 in 2015. The infant mortality rate declined from 10.3 per 1,000 in 2012 to 8.1 per 1,000 in 2015. The maternal mortality rate dropped from 24.5 per 100,000 to 20.1 per 100,000.

The sports industry boomed. The added value of the sports industry totaled 549.4 billion yuan in 2015, accounting for 0.8 percent of the GDP.

View of the Lujiazui financial area on a clear day in Shanghai on Aug 15, 2016. [Photo/Asianewsphoto.com]

The air quality turned better. Of the 338 cities monitored, 24.9 percent reached urban air quality standards in 2016, up 3.3 percentage points from 2015. The average PM2.5 density of cities that did not reach the standards declined 8.8 percent from 2015 to 52 micrograms per cubic meter.

The marine environment improved. Some 73 percent of monitored offshore areas reached the national first and second-grade standards in seawater quality, up 4 percentage points from 2012.

The data is cited from the National Bureau of Statistics.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2017top10/2017-06/22/content_29837955_8.htm

@grey boy 2 , @Chinese-Dragon , @AndrewJin , @cirr , @Shotgunner51

 

[grey boy 2]

What has China achieved in improving people's livelihoods?
By Wu Xiaobo | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-06-22 06:47


A job fair is held in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, Feb 11, 2017. [Photo/Asianewsphoto.com]

China added more than 13 million jobs every year from 2013 to 2016 and kept the urban unemployment rate stable at about 5 percent, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. The number of migrant workers increased 1.8 percent annually in the period.


A woman buys sweets at a supermarket in Zouping county, Shandong province, Jan 26, 2017. [Photo/Asianewsphoto.com]

Chinese residents' per capita disposable income reached 23,821 yuan ($3,488) in 2016, an increase of 7,311 yuan ($1,071) from 2012, which translated into an average annual growth of 7.4 percent.

The per capita disposable income of urban residents was 33,616 yuan in 2016, up 9,489 yuan from 2012. The annual growth rate averaged 6.5 percent.

The per capita disposable income of rural residents increased by 3,974 yuan to 12,363 yuan during the same period, an average annual growth of 8 percent.


Visitors pose at a glass-bottomed bridge in a scenic spot in Pingjiang county, Hunan province, May 27, 2015. [Photo/Asianewsphoto.com]

The per capita consumption expenditure reached 17,111 yuan in 2016, an increase of 4,255 yuan, or an annual average growth of 7.4 percent from 2012.

The consumption structure has upgraded rapidly. Expenditures on transportation and communication rose 2 percentage points from 2012. Expenditures on education, culture and entertainment increased 0.7 percentage points while medical services and health spending picked up 1.3 percentage points.

Car ownership per 100 households was 27.7 units in 2016, an increase of 63.9 percent from 2013. The number of domestic tourists totaled 4.44 billion in 2016, an increase of 50.2 percent from 2012. The number of outbound tourists amounted to 122 million, surging 46.7 percent.


The local government in Suichuan, Jiangxi province, encourages farmers to develop agricultural sightseeing by planting chrysanthemums, which plays a positive role in helping them get out of poverty. [Photo/Asianewsphoto.com]

The number of impoverished people in rural areas was 43.35 million in 2016, down 55.64 million from 2012, which means nearly 14 million people were lifted out of poverty every year, on average.

The rate of poverty was cut to 4.5 percent, down 5.7 percentage points from 2012. The average per capita disposable income of rural residents in impoverished areas stood at 8,452 yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 10.7 percent from 2012.


A senior citizen shows his social security card in Laibin city, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Feb 3, 2017. [Photo/Asianewsphoto.com]

As of the end of 2016, the number of people covered by basic pension insurance increased by 99.81 million from that in the end of 2012. The number of people covered by urban basic medical insurance rose by 207.51 million, and those on unemployment, work-related injury and maternity insurance grew by 28.64 million, 28.79 million and 30.22 million, respectively during the same period.


Beijing Film Academy students pose for graduation photos in Beijing, July 2, 2015. [Photo/Asianewsphoto.com]

The average years of schooling for people at or above the age of 15 increased from 9.05 in 2010 to 9.42 in 2015.

The nine-year compulsory education has been made universal. The gross enrollment ratio in higher education reached 42.7 percent in 2016, up 12.7 percentage points from 2012.

The country has constantly improved facilities of schools engaged in compulsory education in impoverished areas since 2013. It has scrapped tuition and miscellaneous fees for rural high school students from impoverished families since 2016.

The basic pension benefits for enterprise retirees were hiked for the 12th straight year since 2005. There has been solid progress in the integration of urban and rural basic medical insurance. By 2015, personal expenditures on medical services had declined to 29.3 percent of total expenses.


A nurse records patients' conditions at an intensive care unit in a hospital in Rong'an county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, May 12, 2017. [Photo/Asianewsphoto.com]

By the end of 2016, China had 983,000 medical and health institutions nationwide, which included 29,000 hospitals, an increase of 6,000 from 2012. It had 8.45 million medical personnel, up 1.78 million from 2012. The number of beds in medical and health institutions rose from 4.24 to 5.27 per 1,000 people.

The average life expectancy grew from 74.83 years in 2010 to 76.34 in 2015. The infant mortality rate declined from 10.3 per 1,000 in 2012 to 8.1 per 1,000 in 2015. The maternal mortality rate dropped from 24.5 per 100,000 to 20.1 per 100,000.

The sports industry boomed. The added value of the sports industry totaled 549.4 billion yuan in 2015, accounting for 0.8 percent of the GDP.

View of the Lujiazui financial area on a clear day in Shanghai on Aug 15, 2016. [Photo/Asianewsphoto.com]

The air quality turned better. Of the 338 cities monitored, 24.9 percent reached urban air quality standards in 2016, up 3.3 percentage points from 2015. The average PM2.5 density of cities that did not reach the standards declined 8.8 percent from 2015 to 52 micrograms per cubic meter.

The marine environment improved. Some 73 percent of monitored offshore areas reached the national first and second-grade standards in seawater quality, up 4 percentage points from 2012.

The data is cited from the National Bureau of Statistics.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2017top10/2017-06/22/content_29837955_8.htm

@grey boy 2 , @Chinese-Dragon , @AndrewJin , @cirr , @Shotgunner51

It just amazing to witness the leap and bounds of China's development, be it Economy, Military, Science, Technology, Human development etc is simply mind boggling
However, i believed we still have a long way to go, should continue to stay humble and work harder as always

 

[Han Patriot]

It just amazing to witness the leap and bounds of China's development, be it Economy, Military, Science, Technology, Human development etc is simply mind boggling
However, i believed we still have a long way to go, should continue to stay humble and work harder as always

This is a hallmark of a meritocratic authoritarian government, you measure your achievements through specific KPIs. How do you prove your governors, bureaucrats and officials had been performing, you need to measure it. China is no different from a company, do you think private companies are democratic? They are practically run by the few major shareholders. However, in the long term, China need to provide more say to the people, as a feedback. The current system on using survey for feedback is scientific, but people needs to be given some power too.

 

[TaiShang]

The current system on using survey for feedback is scientific, but people needs to be given some power too.

I think piloting any policy before it goes nationwide is another way of gouging the result/effect and people's reaction. I guess China government has developed lots of such channels in which man at the high echelons knows what man on the street thinks.

I believe President Xi has much more exposure to and knowledge of the regular people than, say, Trump or Modi.

It just amazing to witness the leap and bounds of China's development, be it Economy, Military, Science, Technology, Human development etc is simply mind boggling
However, i believed we still have a long way to go, should continue to stay humble and work harder as always

Exactly, brother, these are just to ensure that what has been accomplished so far would not go unnoticed.

Otherwise, the remaining task is no less than what has been accomplished. In fact, a historical - dialectical government like China would never forget that history never freezes and progress never ends.

 

[JSCh]

Across China: Inner Mongolian villagers shake off poverty with science
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-25 13:51:21|Editor: An



HOHHOT, June 25 (Xinhua) -- On a hot summer day in Qinglongshan township, Naiman Banner, in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, villagers are coming to Zhao Maolin's lab to get virus-free sweet potato seedlings.

"We must hurry, or we will miss the best time to sow," Zhao said.

Zhao, 52, an associate researcher at the Institute of Genetics and Development Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has been seeking ways to help local villagers get rid of poverty in Naiman Banner, Tongliao city.

Naiman, located in the hinterland of the Horqin Desert, is a national-level poverty-stricken area with 32,904 people living below the poverty line of 3,168 yuan (460 U.S. dollars).

"The virus-free seedlings helped increase the yield by 67 percent last year," Zhao said.

In July 2015, Zhao was stationed in Naiman as leader of an anti-poverty work group.

"I still remember the first few days when I arrived. I found that most sweet potatoes here were severely infected with a virus, and as a result, the yield was poor," he said. "But there was a great demand for the starch and noodles made from them."

Zhao soon established a research lab in the town, determined to develop high-yield virus-free seedlings and finally succeeded in April last year. He started with an experiment, planting 1,000 seedlings.

"We had a yield of 2,500 kg per mu (about 0.07 hectares) of land last year. In the past we only had 1,500 kg," said Zhang Yubao, a villager.

The seedlings are free for households registered as living below the poverty line.

With the help of the seedlings, the annual income of each household was estimated to increase by at least 6,000 yuan above the poverty line.

Qinglongshan township had 1,622 people living under the poverty line in 2016, but thanks to the virus-free seedlings, 282 of them are no longer in poverty.

"Villagers used to be quite conservative, but planting virus-free potatoes not only has helped them increase income, but also made them believe in the magic of science," Zhao said.

Teaching the villagers was difficult and attracting investors no easier. "We talked to more than ten companies and finally persuaded one of them to invest," he said.

With a deal signed last September, 2,000 hectares of sweet potatoes will be planted in the town this year, and a zone will be built to process potatoes into starch and noodles. Companies and supermarkets nearby will also purchase the potatoes.

"Science and technology can play a big role in poverty relief. We are trying to bring science and technology to the farmlands, adding vitality to local economic growth," said He Minghong, deputy director of the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

The foundation has provided a total of 35.2 million yuan (5.16 million U.S. dollars) and implemented a series of poverty relief projects in the county since 2003, such as bringing in improved cow breeds.

Zhao's two-year term will end in July, but he has applied to stay to serve another term.

"I want to further improve the seedling, push the potato processing zone into operation and witness that the villagers' dream of a better life comes true," he said.

 

[JSCh]

Chinese graduate volunteers go west
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-22 16:04:51|Editor: Liangyu



BEIJING, July 22 (Xinhua) -- A group of 82 recent graduates from universities in Beijing set off Friday to serve as volunteers in the country's remote and underdeveloped western regions, according to the Central Committee of China Communist Youth League (CCYL).

They departed Beijing onboard a train heading for Urumqi in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, marking the start of the "Go West" program for in 2017.

Nearly 80,000 college graduates from 1,876 universities applied for the program this year; 18,300 of them were selected to take part.

The "Go West" program, which was jointly launched by the CCYL, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security in 2003, aims to send university graduates to perform volunteer work in education, health, agriculture and social management sectors in the country's western regions for a period of one to three years.

Over the past 15 years, the program has sent more than 270,000 young people to over 2,100 county-level regions in central and western China.