Senior CPC official outlines plan to eradicate poverty

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — China is determined to build itself into a modern socialist country underpinned by fairness and justice through “targeted poverty alleviation that will take 43 million people out of poverty by 2020,” said a senior official of the Communist Party of China.

“We will promote social fairness and justice by eradicating poverty by 2020,” said Gao Xuanmin, vice-minister of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, in a seminar at Independent Newspapers in Cape Town when briefing the audience on the CPC’s 19th National Congress, which was held in October.

Gao’s speech focused on a series of critical decisions that the Congress made to prepare China for a new era and “turn China into a modern socialist state that is harmonious and beautiful”.

Gao explained that the plan approved by the Congress was part of a vision to create a prosperous society where the success of “socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era” could be realized.

“We will adhere to a people-centered development approach and our people’s aspiration for a better life should be our utmost objective,” Gao said.

He said the Chinese people’s needs were increasing, with growing calls for democracy, justice, human rights and environmental protection.

“We will promote social fairness, justice and take more than 40 million people out of poverty by 2020. That’s to say we will take more than 10 million people out of poverty every year,” he said.

Gao said the process of shifting the paradigm of inequity, which is reflected unevenly between regions and remote villages, means that the party has to make serious human resource allocations.

“We have dispatched 195,000 secretaries of the party to poor villages to shoulder the major responsibility of helping these villages get rid of poverty, and they will play a critical role in poverty alleviation,” he said.

“Our plan is to help those people find a better place to live, as these are poor people, living in very bad conditions.”

Gasant Arbarder, regional executive editor for Independent Newspapers, said he appreciated the detailed presentation by Gao because the discussion on the impact of the CPC’s 19th National Congress “helps deepen our understanding of China”.

“China is a strategic partner for South Africa and the Chinese are speaking of partnerships in win-win relationships, so our job as the media is to demystify the relationship,” Arbarder said.

Our plan is to help those people find a better place to live, as these are poor people.” Gao Xuanmin,