Rural poverty relief may be poorly directed

Cui Hongwu and his two younger sisters in their run-down home in Fuyuan county, Yunnan province. Their father died in an accident and their mother remarried and left. [Photo/China Daily]

A senior citizen smokes a traditional bamboo pipe in Fannigong village, Fuyuan county, Yunnan province, which is designated as an impoverished county, but has produced at least 140 millionaires and even some billionaires. [Photo/China Daily]

 

Financial support does not always reach the most deserving, reports Hu Yongqi from Fuyuan, Yunnan.

Passersby would probably be misled by Cui Hongwu's house, believing it to be a fire-wracked ruin, with smoke-blackened walls and no windows or locks. However, Cui can't afford to redecorate the building, and is not worried about burglary because there's nothing worth stealing, his only possessions are a rusty cooking pot and a ragged bed.

This shabby shelter had been home to the 13-year-old and his two younger sisters, aged 11 and 10, in Fannigong village since their mother married a man from a neighboring village soon after their father was killed in an accident 10 years ago. She never returned.

Cui doesn't like going home. At school, he pretends to be happy, but at home, he has to find food for his sisters. For the past decade, the children have survived on hunger-relief supplies provided by the village committee.

However, 50 km away in the county seat, it's a different world. Senior citizens gather in Jincheng Square to dance, perform karaoke and play badminton under shining neon lights. For them, the evenings are relaxing and enjoyable. Maseratis, Porches and Bentleys are parked in front of the Shengjing Hotel, one of most luxurious in town.

This is daily life in Fuyuan county, Yunnan province, one of 592 counties nationally recognized as the most impoverished in China.

Earlier this month, a plan to hold a music concert in the county gained national attention after reports on the Internet suggested it would cost "tens of millions of yuan". Despite claims that the costs would be borne by private funds from the local coal association, the county government cancelled the concert after criticism that it had failed to urge the wealthy to use their cash to help the poor instead.

The concert story has helped to highlight how a county can be designated as poverty-stricken but still have a buoyant economy. There is huge disparity between rich and poor, as indicated by the case of Cui Hongwu. Heaven for some is a hell for others.

Rural breakdown

Cui, now a second-grader at elementary school, started his education five years later than other kids, partly because of his duties at home. His older sister married a 25-year-old this year and in return, Cui's brother-in-law is obliged to support him financially. Most of Cui's clothes were donated by neighbors, but none was able to adopt him and his sisters. Not through any lack of willingness to do so, but simply because they were unable to support three kids.

Annual per capita income in Fannigong is just 800 yuan ($126), according to Yang Xiong, the Party chief of the Enle village committee that administers Fannigong. Usually, each family has two children and all the parents' money is spent on providing for them.

Tucked away in the mountains, Fannigong relied on horses and cows to transport goods before a new dirt road was completed in March. The snaking road is extremely difficult to navigate and one of our group became nauseous after a short ride. Villagers said the road is impossible to use in the rainy season.

Most residents still live by growing corn and wheat. However, given the barren land and a shortage of rainfall during the last three years, the produce is far from desirable. Cui Fumin, a farmer, 40, said he only harvested 3,000 kg of corn per hectare, compared with yields of 7,500 kg in the provincial capital Kunming.

There are also some exceptions. Some of the men went to work in a nearby coal mine. They earned 1,000 yuan a month and were regarded as wealthy.

Yang Chengwen, director of the Dahe township poverty alleviation office, said his office is short of funds to help the villagers. One villager, who asked not to be named, said the county government should have done more to help them. "To me and the other villagers, the county government has a lot of money (in terms of revenue and annual budget)," he said. "The point is, how much do they want to help us?"