Transitions in and out of poverty

Media Exposure and Mass Participation

Q: There were approximately 3,000 people who falsified their family's history and pretended to be poor in Mashan County, under the administration of Nanning in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Among them, 300 residents were financially supported by the local government and almost 2,000 of those could drive their private cars while living in government-subsidized houses. How could you make sure to exclude fake poverty claims in a list of the poor ranked by population below the poverty line when adopting targeted poverty reduction measures? The Mashan case is not an isolated one. How can China prevent this from happening?

A: Just as I have mentioned before, China has introduced a third party evaluation into performance assessment, which could deliver a clearer picture of the entry and exit mechanisms. What's more, we sometimes select a sample of the data from a target population to conduct a survey so as to enjoy an accuracy guarantee in terms of finding the real impoverished people.

As far as I am concerned, the Mashan case, to some extent, is more like a careless mistake made by the local government officials than it is corruption or a duty-related crime.

Q: How do you understand the Mashan case?

A: We got the news from the National Audit Office (NAO) of China as it performed audits to verify the accuracy of the registered poor in Mashan County. Later on, we paid much attention to the case as it was further covered by the mass media. A senior official from Guangxi even concerned himself with the case and initiated an investigation of the registered poor population.

Q: Last year in mid-August, a 12-year-old Chinese girl whose heartbreaking essay about the tragic loss of both of her parents went viral on the Internet and has received help from the local government, a charity organization and thousands of netizens. Do you think media exposure helps to solve unsolved cases?

A: I think the extensive media coverage gets in the way of solving its problems but it is not enough. To address the problems, we recommend third party evaluation into the performance assessment and blaze a new trail to make progress on government efficiency by creating poverty reduction files. Strictly speaking, the case you mentioned about a girl from a poor village in Sichuan province is something associated with the rural health-care system and education.

Q: What channel should you use to detail the poverty case as poverty cases have piled up in regard to the numerous underprivileged people?

A: Actually, there were some permanent staff members of LGOPAD, whom engaged in researching information about poverty. We would perform examination when finding something illegal or someone who is badly in need of help.

In addition, we have already provided a nationwide toll-free hotline (12317) for reporting and supervising the suspected or actual incidents of falsifying poverty cases since late 2014.

Q: How effective is the report and supervision regarding poverty cases through the telephone hotline?

A: Just last year alone, we received roughly 6,000 calls. Twenty-five percent of the calls were linked with subsistence allowances, while 20 percent of them were from dilapidated houses or poor rural households. Only 2 percent of the calls were about corruption. In fact, just 2 percent of the calls were made regarding poverty issues. By analyzing the calls, we found 130 problems, among which 120 have been solved.

Additionally, according to the NAO, a total of 17 counties from 6 provinces are under investigation and most of the cases concerning corruption have been solved. Local governments exerted their efforts to end corruption's connection to poverty and hold the official's liable for the criminal conduct on poverty-related and emerging problems.

Q: What kinds of people are taking or accepting a bribe during the investigation?

A: Village cadres, who are the lowest level of administration in rural areas, are the main group involved in bribery cases. Obviously, some of the village cadres are from impoverished regions and have been in charge of poverty reduction programs. Staff members from the government at all levels above the county are scarcely involved in bribery cases.

Q: Sometimes, corruption emerged as anti-poverty projects were launched. LGOPAD has the distribution rights on the anti-poverty programs. How could LGOPAD prevent corruption, which is primarily a rent-seeking behavior?

A: Improving internal controls and strengthening legal education are the two best ways to address the issue. In the first half of last year, we issued a warning for those in charge of anti-poverty projects.

Rent-seeking is the use of an organization or individual's resources to obtain economic gains from others without reciprocating any benefits to society. And we decided to eliminate rent-seeking in all industries, particularly in poverty related cases.

Nowadays, China has upgraded an operating system on anti-poverty projects with a zero tolerance policy against corruption and fraud. Staff members will have no chance to enjoy more exposure to the special anti-poverty funds.