Villages visited by Xi shake off poverty

BASIC LIVING GUARANTEED

During his inspection tour in Shanxi in July 2017, Xi presided over a seminar in the provincial capital of Taiyuan on eliminating poverty in severely impoverished areas. He called for increased medical assistance, temporary relief and charitable aid for people living in poverty due to illness.

Among the beneficiaries was Tan Dengzhou, 63, from Huaxi village in Shizhu Tujia autonomous county in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality. Tan, who had already shaken off poverty, became impoverished once more following a fall that confined him to hospital for four months.

While visiting Tan and his wife on April 15, 2019, Xi said that people who still live below the poverty line or slip back into poverty due to illness should be prioritized in poverty alleviation projects.

At a symposium held the following day, Xi said that the basic requirements of the 2020 poverty alleviation goal were that the rural poor have no worries about food and clothing and have access to compulsory education, basic medical services and safe housing.

Tan had 90 percent of his 160,000-yuan medical bill covered. A family doctor visits him every month free of charge under a national scheme that aims to designate a doctor for every household.

Apart from the minimum living allowances of him and his wife, Tan was employed as a forest ranger. In 2019, the couple brought in an income of 20,000 yuan.

Earlier this year, a local honey factory offered him bees and taught him how to raise them. The factory will purchase the honey, which is expected to add thousands of yuan to his family's annual income.

"Although government policy has guaranteed my basic living needs, I want to make my fortune with my own hands," he said.