Flood relief efforts and community jobs on agenda

A number of ministry-level departments, including those responsible for finance, emergency management and poverty alleviation have recently responded to issues of public concern.

150m yuan of emergency funding for flood response

The ministries of finance and emergency management granted 150 million yuan ($21.2 million) of emergency funds to Sichuan, Guizhou and Hunan on June 29 to help the three provinces deal with flood disasters.

The Ministry of Emergency Management, which issued a statement about the funding, said it and the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters had been discussing the weather and flood outlook with water resources and meteorology departments.

On June 28, the National Disaster Reduction Committee and the Ministry of Emergency Management activated a level-four national disaster relief and emergency response to the rain and floods in Sichuan, Guizhou and Hunan, and dispatched working groups to areas seriously hit by flooding to help them cope with the disaster.

Deluge prompts focus on plight of impoverished

Poverty alleviation authorities in provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities should monitor the situation of people who risk slipping into poverty due to the floods that are hitting southern parts of China and provide timely assistance to them, the State Council Leading

Group Office on Poverty Alleviation and Development said in a statement issued on June 30.

Authorities should investigate and address hidden dangers in infrastructure, speed up renovation of damaged houses, roads and water projects, and ensure poor people have safe housing and drinking water, it said.

They should also help farmers recover from the loss of crops and agricultural produce caused by floods and ensure impoverished migrant workers can find jobs, the office said.

Authorities should help impoverished migrant workers who have returned home due to floods or the COVID-19 pandemic solve the difficulties they face and encourage them to return to cities to find work.

They should also help those who cannot work away from home to find jobs nearby or engage in farm work to prevent significant loss of income, the office said.

It also called on authorities to facilitate the sale of agricultural produce by impoverished people, among other measures.

Graduates urged to seek community service jobs

College graduates will be encouraged to seek jobs and start businesses in the field of community services, the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and a number of government departments, including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said in a statement issued on Friday.

That would offer graduates more employment alternatives and help communities in urban and rural areas improve their governance by hiring graduates, the statement said.

The statement also supported the employment of graduates by companies and civil organizations that offer community services. College graduates should be given priority in filling community work vacancies designed to strengthen disease prevention efforts at the community level in light of weaknesses exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, it said.

Policies dealing with government purchases of community services should be improved, and governments should nurture all kinds of community organizations and social service institutions in urban and rural areas to create jobs for college graduates.

More assistance should be provided for graduates seeking community-level jobs, and they should receive better training in community service skills, the statement said.