While meeting domestic and foreign press at the third session of the 12^th National People’s Congress, Premier Li Keqiang pointed out that prosperity of the nation lies in people’s creativity, and economic vitality comes from diverse ways of employment, starting enterprises and domestic consumption. Our aim of pushing forward the mass to start enterprises and innovate more is to help more people become better off and realize their life values. These measures are conducive to adjusting the structure of income distribution and promoting social fairness, which will provide more and more young people, especially those from poor families with more chances.

Source: cnr.cnMar. 15, 2015

Liu Yongfu, director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, noted that he is determined to achieve the goal of lifting 10 million more people out of poverty this year. Liu said that there are over 70 million poor people in 128,000 impoverished villages, 592 poverty-stricken counties and 14 contiguous destitute areas in China. He maintained that poverty alleviation is a pressing task given that we only have less than 6 years before achieving the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way as scheduled. Therefore, we have to specify our objectives, carry out more effective policies and measures to win the poverty reduction battle so that impoverished groups and destitute areas will not lag behind.

Source: people.com.cn  Mar. 12, 2015

Local Poverty Alleviation News:

Sichuan Province set a goal of lifting over 1 million people out of poverty in 2015. By the end of 2012, there were 7.5 million rural poor people in Sichuan, accounting for about one tenth of the total population in the province. In 2013, the provincial government assigned poverty alleviation tasks to its 21 municipal and prefecture governments for the first time. In 2015, it set the objective of freeing over 1 million people from poverty.

Source: People’s Daily Mar. 16, 2015

Gansu Province has granted life subsidies to over 100,000 rural teachers in 58 contiguous destitute counties in the province. By the end of 2014, Gansu had allocated 120 million yuan as life subsidies to 109,484 teachers. The number of counties and districts in the province that had carried out subsidy programs had increased from 13 at the beginning 2013 to 58 by now. The program covers all of the contiguous destitute counties (cities and districts) in Gansu province.

Source: chinanews.com  Mar. 11, 2015

Qinghai Province will launch a project of poverty alleviation through the development of photovoltaic industry in 30 impoverished villages. In 2014, Qinghai lifted 209,000 people out of poverty and solved drinking water problems for 277,000 people. In 2015, the province will make more efforts to promote joint poverty alleviation with the cooperation of the government, market and the society by launching poverty reduction projects through e-commerce and photovoltaic programs,.

Source: Worker’s Daily  Mar. 13, 2015

Shanxi Province will support poor villages to shake off poverty through the development of countryside tourism. The provincial government is going to select a number of villages with natural tourism resources from 264 poor villages in the province as national pilot villages to be invigorated through countryside tourism. Afterwards, Shanxi will support about 50 poverty-stricken villages per year in the same way to boost countryside tourism in 300 destitute villages by 2020.

Source: cntour2.com  Mar. 13, 2015

Qingyang City, Gansu Province helped 458,700 people from 200 local villages shake off poverty. Qingyang worked out “Opinions on Further Assistance for Poor Villages and Households and Continuous Poverty Alleviation Efforts” and 32 supporting policies and measures, which had attracted 180 private economic organizations to pair with 152 villages in terms of poverty alleviation and bringing in 16 enterprises and schools from other provinces that would assist 23 local villages. As a result, 458,700 people from 200 local villages have been lifted out of poverty.

Source: Gansu Economic Daily  Mar. 11, 2015

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region plans to lift 417,600 people out of poverty in 2015. By the end of 2014, there were still 1.1965 million people registered as impoverished population. In 2015 Inner Mongolia plans to free 417,600 people registered in poverty document from poverty, of whom 329,500 live under national poverty line and 88,100 under the autonomous region’s poverty line. The average poverty reduction rate is 34.9%.

Source: nmgfpw.gov.cn  Mar. 12, 2015

Public Poverty Alleviation and Charity News:

The Welfare Program of Medical Aid for Children with Heart Disease was jointly launched by China Youth Development Foundation and the NUSKIN Greater China Children Heart Fund in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province. It is reported that NUSKIN will donate 5 million yuan to continuously help the underprivileged children with congenital heart diseases in Heilongjiang in the next 10 years.

Source: chinanews.com  Mar. 12, 2015

Wanda Group will invest 60 billion yuan in Guizhou Province to help enhance development capability of local poor areas. Wanda Group has chosen Danzhai County, Guizhou Province as its special assistance target. It initiated an action plan called “Poverty Alleviation in Impoverished Counties with Special Assistance of Private Enterprises”, which is the first of its kind in China. Wanda will continue to help the county reduce poverty through enhancing industrial development, increasing employment and improving education. The company will donate about 60 billion yuan to carry out programs and innovate social poverty reduction mode so as to strengthen the area’s development.

Source:epaper.gywb.cn  Mar. 11, 2015

Education Assistance Foundation of Chamber of Commerce of Erdos, Inner Mongoliahas donated 300,000 yuan student subsidy to 100 students in Inner Mongolia Normal University, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University and Inner Mongolia Medical University so as to help them finish schooling. Since its establishment, the Chamber of Commerce of Erdos has donated over 800 million yuan tohelp with students, poverty reduction, flood relief and reconstruction in earthquake-stricken areas and benefited over 600 college students from low income families.

Source: Inner Mongolia Daily  Mar. 14, 2015

Organizer: Beijing Normal University China Poverty Reduction Research Center