After slashing its rural poverty-stricken population by an
impressive 80 percent in 20 years, China finds itself mired in the
fight against entrenched destitution in the remote interior,
especially among ethnic minorities.
With relatively large impoverished populations and fewer
opportunities for upward mobility, these areas would remain
destitute, said Fan Xiaojian, deputy chief of the State Council
Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development on Thursday,
at a symposium on the situations and policies of poverty
alleviation.
"Most of these areas are sparsely populated habitats for
minority nationalities, where the destitute and low-income
population comprises more than 40 percent of local rural
residents," he said.
Overall, only 6 percent of the country's rural population or 57
million were either destitute, officially defined as earning no
more than 683 yuan (about 92 U.S. dollars) per year, or low-income,
earning no more than 889 yuan per year (about 120 U.S.
dollars).
The international poverty line is 1 U.S. dollar per day.
Of China's 592 officially designated key poverty-alleviation
counties, 267 are inhabited by ethnic minorities, official figures
reveal.
Unlike other regions that have taken the lead to lift their
inhabitants out of poverty, Fan said that these minority habitats
are more closed to the outside world, less developed and often
plagued by an adverse natural environment.
""Loss of land, rising living costs triggered by market
fluctuations and insufficient infrastructure facilities for social
services often compound the difficulty of poverty elimination," he
said.
The government has drawn up preferential policies, including
taxation privileges, and increased financial support to these
areas. This year, the minimum subsistence allowance, which was
formerly reserved for urban dwellers, has started to expand to
rural areas.
Apart from the habitats for minority nationalities, Fan said
that the areas marked by stone mountains, deserts, loess plateaus,
high-altitude and low-temperature hilly regions are also tough nuts
to crack.
The cost of poverty alleviation in these areas is very high as
lots of people need to be relocated to somewhere with a better
natural environment and more resources, he said.
Fan said about 148,000 poverty-stricken villages were scattered
in such areas, where nearly 33 percent of residents are either
destitute or low-income. He did not provide further details.
He said that the government should channel more funds into
poverty alleviation so that more rural impoverished citizens could
share in the country's economic and social development.
Official figures showed that between 2000 and 2006, the rural
destitute population in China declined by 33.1 percent, to 21.48
million. The number of low-income rural residents shrunk by 42.9
percent, to 33.5 million.
However, the wealth gap within the less-developed interiors has
been constantly widening. For instance, the urban-rural wealth
disparity in northwestern Gansu Province expanded from 3.44:1 to
4.18:1 between 2001 and 2006, much faster than the national
average, which itself grew from 2.9:1 to 3.3:1.
In Yushu Tibetan Prefecture of northwestern Qinghai Province,
urban dwellers earned five times as much as rural residents in
2006.
"The yawning wealth gap is offsetting the decrease in the rural
poverty-stricken population," Fan warned.
The 2006 Statistical Report of China's National Economy and
Social Development showed the inflation-adjusted per capita net
income of rural residents was 3,587 yuan in 2006, up 7.4 percent
year-on-year while that of urban residents rose 10.4 percent to
11,759 yuan.
For rural families, the Engel's coefficient -- the share of
income spent on food -- was 43 percent. For urban residents, it was
35.8 percent.
But Fan was confident about poverty reduction in China, saying
that the fight against poverty had raised broader concern from all
walks of life.
A good sign, Fan said, was that the per capita average net
income for the country's key poverty-alleviation counties had grown
by more than 6 percent for four consecutive years, well above the
national average for all poverty-stricken countries.
(Xinhua News Agency November 23, 2007)