Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao has said that reducing poverty will be a long-term task in China, and may require concerted efforts for generations.
Wen made the comment in Beijing Tuesday at a meeting on anti- poverty work by the Party and government organizations.
Wen asked the Party and government organizations to attach greater importance to poverty relief work, saying that their participation in efforts against poverty show the people the close attention the Party and the government are paying to the problem.
Party and government organizations should take concrete measures and send their best cadres to do the work, Wen said.
They should help poverty-stricken regions to improve production and their environment and should hold more technical training courses in these regions, Wen added.
Over the last few years, 138 Party and government organizations have taken part in poverty relief work in 325 counties throughout the country.
(People's Daily April 24, 2002)