Rurals should have subsidies
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-03-09 06:17

Like their urban counterparts, rural people should also enjoy subsidies to ensure a minimum living standard, says a signed article in Beijing News. An excerpt follows:

In his proposal submitted to the ongoing National People's Congress, deputy Zhou Hongyu called for the drafting of a law to include farmers who lose their land in the social security system.

The law would surely be of great significance, but its application scope is limited. Those who do not lose their land but are in abject poverty still have no access to a minimal living subsidy.

The country now has put in place an ordinance guaranteeing urban residents' minimum living demands. However, there has so far not been one that can be applied to the rest of the population.

The ordinance stipulates that non-agricultural families, the average income of whose household members is lower than the local lowest living standard, are to be subsidized by certain material allowances.

This privilege should be extended to rural residents, given that they have equal legal status.

Also, the country is without doubt economically capable of extending such a guarantee to farmers, who need the help more.

Starting from January 2004, Fujian, in East China, first applied such lowest living guarantee to rural areas across the province. All rural dwellers whose average yearly income is less than 1,000 yuan (US$123) have been subsidized by the provincial government.

Statistics indicate that by the end of 2004, there were 26.1 million people in the country whose yearly income was less than 668 yuan (US$83). The country is capable of providing them and others with living subsidies.

(China Daily 03/09/2006 page4)

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