Premier Li Keqiang published his article, “Accelerate Agricultural Modernization with Reform and Innovation as the Driving Forces” on the CPC magazine QIUSHI. Li expounded on the significance of accelerating agricultural modernization, a major task with significance for both present and the long term, stressing the role of the new urbanization in boosting for and providing conditions agricultural modernization. To promote urbanization, Li called for efforts to be made in the following aspects: to properly handle the three tasks several groups, each of which has a population of 100 million (granting urban residency identities to around 100 million rural migrant workers, rebuilding rundown city areas and shanty towns where around 100 million people live, and helping around 100 million rural residents in central and western regions integrated into cities), to stimulate urban areas’ support for rural development and industrial support to agriculture, to increase rural residents’ income through multiple channels, to facilitate the construction of countryside, and to speed up poverty alleviation through development.

Source: gov.cn  Feb. 15, 2015

According to the latest statistics of National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), China’s poverty incidence rate was 7.2% in 2014, lowered by 1.3% compared with the previous year. Thanks to these efforts, 70.17 million people lived under the rural poverty line of 2,300 yuan (annual average income per capita, based on the constant price in 2010) in 2014, reduced by 14.9% or 12.32 million people in comparison with 2013.

Source: people.com.cn  Feb. 27, 2014

National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) confirmed that the poverty population was reduced by 1.08 million in Hunan Province in 2014. According to NBS’s monitoring and confirmation, Hunan has reduced the number of rural residents living below poverty line by 1.08 million in 2014; by the end of 2014, the registered rural poverty-stricken population was lowered to 5.96 million.

Source: hnrb.voc.com.cn  Feb. 27, 2015

Public Poverty Alleviation and Charity News:

The microfinance project of China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) has covered over half of China’s provinces. As the biggest microfinance institution for public welfare in China, CFPA’s Microfinance program has established public welfare microfinance projects for 16 provinces. By the end of 2014, the company had granted 930,000 pieces of loan adding up to 8.4 billion yuan, covering 141 impoverished counties in 16 provinces, with 230,000 effective customers and a loan balance of 1.8 billion yuan.

Source: xinhuanet.com Feb. 21, 2015

In Ordos city, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the project “Caring for Underprivileged Girls in Action” was jointly launched by Ejin Horo Banner Women's Federation and Ejin Horo Banner Yuliang Charity Fund. The Charity Fund will provide 685,000 yuan to help poverty-stricken students (including students with single parents; orphans; and children with serious diseases) in kindergartens, primary schools and high schools as well as left-behind children in Ejin Horo Banner who were excellent both in conduct and learning.

Source: Ordos Daily  Feb. 27, 2014

Local Poverty Alleviation News:

Last year, 693,000 people have been lifted out of poverty in Hubei Province thanks to the continuous targeted poverty alleviation efforts. In 2014, by integrating targeted poverty alleviation with the poverty reduction campaigns in major destitute areas, Hubei government kept accurate record of 5.9 million impoverished residents in 4,821 poverty-stricken villages. With a total investment of 164.1 billion yuan in the 4 major destitute areas, the provincial government freed about 693,000 people who were registered as impoverished residents from poverty.

Source: chinanews.com  Feb. 28, 2015

In 2014, 32,000 people in Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province were lifted out of poverty. According to targeted poverty alleviation requirements, Jinzhong government has made destitute counties as a main battlefield in its poverty alleviation, and has enabled 32,000 people to climb above the poverty line and keep their living standards steady in 2014.

Source: Shanxi Daily  Feb. 27, 2015

In 2014, Jiangxi Province has granted 2.3 billion yuan as poverty alleviation fund, lifting 700,000 people out of poverty. In 2014, Jiangxi continued to win more support from the national government, putting in a total of 2.302 billion yuan as poverty alleviation funds, an increase of 18.66 %, or 363 million yuan compared with the previous year. New achievements have been made in poverty-relief development projects and the resettlement for residents in the reservoir region. It is estimated that 700,000 people will be lifted out of poverty.

Source: jxntv.cn  Feb. 11, 2015

The Women's Federation of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region raised a fund of 820,000 yuan during the Spring Festival to distribute “mother’s parcels” to over 3,100 poor mothers in 16 banners, counties and districts. Initiated by All-China Women's Federation and China Women's Development Foundation, “Mother’s Parcel Posts” is a public welfare project calling on all sectors of society to carry out "one-on-one assistance" by sending parcels containing daily necessities to poor mothers so as to help them resolve their practical difficulties.

Source: Inner Mongolia Daily  Feb. 26, 2014

Organizer: Beijing Normal University China Poverty Reduction Research Center