Subanchor: Highlighting poverty reduction

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For more on poverty-reduction programs in rural China, we are joined in the studio by our reporter Li Kefu.

Q1: So a new decade begins and China announces poverty alleviation targets. But what has the country already achieved?

A: I think there are two main points that deserve to be highlighted. First, Chinas efforts are now all about developing the countrys rural areas, not just giving hand-out to those in need. Its about helping them help themselves. The State Council Information Office says over one and a half million people in poverty-stricken areas have received professional training over the past decade. So thats a real change in policy.

The second improvement, is that poverty alleviation programs are more comprehensive. They involve all social sectors working together on various projects. To give you some numbers, between 2002 to 2010, some 272 organizations were involved in helping the poor. They donated over 9 billion Yuan. Charities, individuals and private companies are now also helping. They raised almost 34 billion yuan.

Q2: So the international community now recognizes the progress made by China. Can you give us some more on that?

A: Ok, well the numbers speak for themselves. In the 1970s, there were 250 million people living in poverty, that means earning less than 1,200 yuan per person per year. Today, that number has dropped to less than 27 million. For the past thirty years, Chinas economy has been growing at an unprecedented rate, that means more money available for poverty-reduction projects. Most of the! se were initiated by central and local governments. This year, even more money was invested: 27 billion Yuan, a 22% increase from that of 2010. Encouraging news therefore, but there still is a long way to go in battling poverty in China.

Editor:Zheng Limin |Source: CNTV.CN



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