Living standards rise as efforts continue

The central government’s largescale efforts to alleviate poverty began in May 1986, with the founding of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.

In the same year, the first national poverty level was set at 200 yuan ($29) annually per person.At the time ,125 million people nationwide were officially classified as living below the standard.

By 2000, the number of people who lacked basic clothing and food had fallen to 32 million. In 2001, the national poverty level was raised to 865 yuan per person, but by 2011, it had risen to 2,300 yuan.

The number of people classified as living in poverty has fallen significantly since the end of 2012, when poverty-alleviation work was established as a priority task at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

Since 2013, more than 10 million people have been lifted out of poverty every year.

The growing number of poverty alleviation projects and development plans has seen malpractice in a number of areas, such as the relocation of families to uninhabitable regions, and in efforts to develop projects related to businesses and the development of tourism in villages.

“The waste of government money, the embezzlement of poverty alleviation funds and other corrupt practices have been uncovered. The severity of corruption has been greatly reduced since the anti-graft campaign began at the end of 2012. However, new problems have emerged,” said Liu Yongfu, head of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.

Government officials don’t possess the money-management skills required for poverty-relief projects, and also lack the ability to assess projects objectively, he added.

Moreover, governments at the lower levels, such as counties and villages, were found to have the greatest number of cases of misconduct and corrupt practices, according to Liu: “Efforts should be made to prevent the misuse of poverty-alleviation funds. Our office has devised more-specific regulations and improved management of the process to supervise funds and ensure the money is used more efficiently.”

The State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development is working with the Ministry of Finance to update regulations on the use of funds allocated by the central government for poverty relief. The changes will require funds be allocated to individual projects, which will strengthen supervision of specific projects.