2014.No.03（11-20 February，2014）

1. Poverty relief funds should be aimed at strengthening the poor's productive capacity against poverty. The World Bank estimates that China still has a large population in rural areas living below the poverty line and the rural-urban income gap remains large. This, to a certain extent, undermines the social performance of poverty relief funds and the improvement of the poor’s livelihood is sometimes followed by a relapse into poverty. Suggestions: poverty relief funds should be used to empower the poor to develop in a sustained manner. The following four measures are suggested: First, increase investments in public services and communal facilities in poor areas. Second, expand the coverage of poverty relief funds. Third, step up the financial support and utilize the fund in a more innovative way. Fourth, step up support to the ecological environment protection and ecological compensation.
Source: Guangming Daily, 16-02-2014

2. Zigui, Hubei province has lifted 22,000 people out of poverty by promoting the "1119" pattern. Since 2011, Zigui County in Hubei province has been working on the implementation of an ambitious and innovative accountability mechanism in poverty alleviation and the promotion of "1119", a unique poverty relief pattern. In the "1119" pattern, the first "1" refers to one chief leader of the County’s Standing Committee, People's Congress of CPPCC at the county level, who is in charge of the program; the second "1" refers to one competent institution, which takes the lead; the third "1" refers to one large-scale corporation, which lends a helping hand and the "9" refers to nine institutions directly under the county, which work together to help one poverty-stricken village. This is a pattern of group support, with responsible parties rotating annually. Within this pattern, each of the County leaders, the institutions and towns should share the responsibility and the common people are the beneficiaries.
Source: xinhuanet.com, 14-02-2014

3. Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region carries out the "Four access" project to lift 650,000 locals out of poverty. Since 2013, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region has carried out the "Four-access" project to lift 650,000 poors in Xihaigu area out of poverty. The "Four-access" project means that villages have access to the infrastructure; households have access to industrial projects; individuals have access to training; and institutions have "access" to poverty relief responsibility. To date, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region has invested 890 million yuan to help 500 poverty-stricken villages, basically covering 600,000 poor people with productive capacity.
Source: xinhuanet.com, 14-02-2014

4. Qianjiang: Adopting innovative work pattern to lift 18 poor villages out of poverty. Qianjiang district has worked out innovative ways, such as convening the Villager Assembly, involving villagers in selecting projects and planning operable projects from the bottom up so as to bring the poor rural villagers' enthusiasm into play and encourage them to plant flue cured tobacco and Kiwi fruit trees, to raise pigs and silkworms, and to develop rural tourism. At present, 18 poverty-stricken villages in this district, including Malin village, have got rid of poverty.
Source: www.people.com.cn, 14-02-2014

5. Yunnan province will grant 5000 Yuan annually to each of the students admitted to colleges attached to Ministries of China. Yunnan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government recently issued Views on the Innovative Mechanisms to Train Talents, which stipulates that from 2014, the province will carry out the Awards for Outstanding Students from Poor Area scheme: Students from poor households of Yunnan province, who have been admitted to the colleges under Ministries of China, will be granted 5000 Yuan per person per year during their undergraduate study.
Source: www.china.com.cn, 13-02-2014

6. Chongqing Municipal Government provides more than 70,000 jobs for graduates from poor families. Against the background of severe and complicated employment circumstances, Chongqing municipality has introduced a series of measures to promote the employment of college graduates from poor families. Up to now, the city has provided jobs for 70,000 graduates from poor families, with an employment rate of 94.7%, higher than the city's average employment rate of college graduates. According to the statistics, in 2013, colleges in Chongqing produced 23,000 graduates from poor families, accounting for 14.2% of the total graduates.
Source: People's Daily, 13-02-2014

7. 300 million yuan is allocated to support Children Nutrition Improvement Project in Poor Areas. Since October 2012, National Health and Family Planning Committee of PRC has started "Children Nutrition Improvement Project in Poor Areas". This project provides every 6-24 months old infants with one bag of "nutrition package" which is rich in protein, vitamins, iron, calcium, zinc and other minerals per day. At the same time, education on children’s nutrition has been carried out to improve the health of children in poor areas. In 2013, the project has been expanded to cover 300 counties in 21 provinces and with subsidy from the central government increased to 300 million yuan. The project has operated smoothly since its beginning and is welcomed by locals. By the end of December 2013, 400,000 children have become beneficiaries.
Source: Science and Technology Daily, 13-02-2014

8. Gansu province has introduced 10 innovative measures to alleviate poverty through science and technology. This year, Gansu province has introduced 10 science and technology oriented measures in order to implement the "1236" poverty relief plan with science and technology innovation. Among them, there are two measures concerning people’s livelihood, four concerning industrial development, two concerning science and technology facilities improvement, two serving as examples and initiations.
Source: Lanzhou Daily, 13-02-2014

9. Shaanxi Province will send around ten thousand cadres to villages to help poor households out of poverty. The number of cadres sent to each of the villages varies from three to five in accordance with the size of the village and its poor population. Among them, one division or section-level cadre is selected as the team leader. Before the end of this March, the first batch of 10,000 cadres will be sent to 2000 low-income villages to help with the poverty-relief work. It is hoped that by 2020, the project of cadre stationing in villages for poverty-relief work can cover all low-income villages in Shaanxi Province. In 2014, Shaanxi Province make sure that one million poor locals will be out of poverty by the end of the year, through more targeted measures like sending cadres to stations in villages and registering poor households.
Source: cn.chinagate.cn, 17-02-2014

10. Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region will cancel GDP assessment in designated poverty-stricken counties. Assessment mechanism of poverty-stricken counties in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region will be revised and GDP assessment in designated poverty-stricken counties will be canceled. The criteria to assess designated poverty-stricken counties in the future will be the improvement of people’s livelihood, the decrease of impoverished population and work done to counter poverty. The result will serve as important elements to appraise the cadres’ performance and for their promotion so as to encourage leaders of the party and government of poor areas take the poverty relief work as their priority.
Source: Ningxia Daily, 14-02-2014

11. Longxian County, Shaanxi Province explores cow fostering industry as a way to get rid of poverty. Longxian County in Shaanxi province, with 101.7 thousand poor locals, is one of the main counties covered by the National Poverty Alleviation Project and is also covered by the Liupan Mountain Poverty Relief Region. In 2011, Longxian County launched the cow fostering industry pattern concerning corporations, breeding bases and farmers to alleviate poverty. Within this pattern, the problems of poor household's lack of rearing techniques and managerial ability are solved, as well as the needed investing of laborers and resources and the risks in dairy farming. It can also scale up the enterprises and promote intensive management. According to statistics, in two years, the County has paid 1356 poor households with dividends of 1.148 million yuan.
Source: Shaanxi Daily, 13-02-2014

12. Jiangsu: education as the priority for poverty alleviation. Jiangsu province decides to take education as a priority to alleviate poverty. It promotes education and training in rural communities, with the focus on improving people's knowledge and working skills in six contiguous rural regions. It is reported that in the future, Jiangsu will step up investment in education-oriented poverty relief projects and strengthen supervision over these projects, with more focus attached to key programs and administrative accountability mechanism.
Source: www.jyb.cn, 17-02-2014

Organizer: Beijing Normal University China Poverty Reduction Research Center