The government should establish a scheme for subsidizing the needy under special situations beyond the pork price rise, says an editorial in Beijing News. An excerpt follows:

Several departments of the central government are making joint efforts to cushion the shock caused by rocketing pork prices around the country.

Special subsidies will be granted to those with low incomes in cities and college students from needy families before the end of June.

The central government has decided to offer financial aid to pig farmers in central and western China to make raising pigs profitable.

These subsidies would obviously shelter low-income families from price hikes in life's necessities.

However, such subsidies are only temporary measures tailored to special groups. Migrant workers, for example, are not covered by the upcoming subsidy although they are subject to the impact of inflation.

The pork price hike is caused by the price increases in grains and animal feed. When the central government gives money to pig farmers, how about subsidies to those raising other animals including poultry?

Starting with the pork subsidy, the government should try to establish a long-term framework for public subsidies covering both rural and urban citizens.

A lot of work is needed to estimate the number of subsidy receivers, disclose the information to the public when necessary, draft an emergency plan and distribute the subsidies as quickly as possible.

With the help of academia, the government should calculate the needs of different groups under different situations in advance, so that proper measures can be taken when needed to reduce financial shocks to those in need.

Besides the pork price hike, many other conditions could threaten those with low incomes, including price rises in gas and water as well as heating costs in winter. People would feel well taken care of if the government has a subsidy plan in place.

(China Daily June 21, 2007)