Xinhua Insight: Student essay highlights poverty battle in SW China

A student's heartbreaking essay in southwest China's Sichuan Province has prompted reflection on the country's fight against poverty.

In the 300-word essay titled "Tears," Muku Yiwumu, of the Yi ethnic minority in Liangshan Prefecture, recounts her sadness and helplessness following the deaths of her parents.

"My father died four years ago," the essay began. It went on to say there was no money available to treat her mother after she suddenly fell sick.

After one day in the hospital, her mother pleaded to return home. "I feel uncomfortable here," her mother said. "I'm better off at home."

"I took my mom home and cooked for her. She was dead by the time dinner was ready," wrote the student.

"In China, there is a place called the Sun Moon Lake," she continued. "Maybe the lake water is made of my tears from missing you, mom."

The essay went viral on a popular microblog after being posted by a volunteer teacher. It had attracted more than 5,000 comments as of 9 a.m. Saturday, with netizens calling it "the saddest essay ever."

The story sparked an outpour of compassion from the public. A website launched a donation for children in Liangshan, with a total of 470,000 yuan collected as of Friday noon. It also spurred discussions on China's poverty-relief campaign.

"It kills me to see those people still suffering from poverty in an increasingly well-off society," commented a netizen with the screenname HYP_Nozomi on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.

"Poverty-relief is a hard nut to crack, so instead of simply allocating funds, the government should figure out a way to make the ongoing battle more effective," the comment continued.

China has lifted more than 600 million people out of poverty in the past 15 years, accounting for about 70 percent of those brought out of poverty worldwide. Yet the country still faces an uphill battle to improve the lives of 70 million poverty-stricken people in the countryside, largely in the country's underdeveloped western and central areas.

HARD BATTLE

After Muku Yiwumu's story made headlines, Xinhua reporters investigated Liangshan this week to find out about the poverty-relief efforts there.

Mayi Village, one of the poorest villages in Liangshan, is on the "key-assistance" list of the prefectural government.

Winding roads in the mountains lead to the remote village, about 11 kilometers from Liangshan's Meigu County. The area has surprisingly bad transportation conditions. A local official told Xinhua that during rainy seasons, even the best SUVs cannot cross the rugged roads to reach the village.

Guci Zuogu's family lives in a ramshackle dwelling in Mayi Village. When Xinhua reporters arrived at the house, the seven family members were sitting on the ground around a bamboo basket eating a lunch of potatoes,their staple food.

The family shares a house with their livestock. Cows sleep on the left side, and Guci's family sleeps on the right. The house emitted a pungent smell. Guci said they have no money to build a cowshed.

Outside the house, a smiling boy ran around, his body covered in dirt. The seven-year-old, nicknamed "Little Calf" by local villagers, said he had never taken a shower before. There is no toilet at his home, he said, adding that he didn't even know what toilet paper looks like.

In Liangshan's Zhaojue County, drugs have led many to struggle in poverty. With fewer than 300,000 people, ten percent of the county's residents once engaged in the drug trade. At its worst point, almost every family was involved, a villager said on condition of anonymity.

A 74-year-old woman told Xinhua that her five children all died from drug use.

"I don't know what I live for right now," the petite woman sobbed while standing in her shabby adobe house.

According to government statistics, about 600,000 rural residents in Liangshan Prefecture, or 13.5 percent of its total population, are still struggling in poverty. That number is five percentage points higher than the national average.

Poverty reduction remains a challenge for Chinese policymakers, with more than 70 million people living below the country's poverty line, defined as an annual income under 2,300 yuan (371 U.S. dollars).

Though the government's poverty relief fund has nearly doubled in four years, the effect is far below expectations. Only 12.32 million people emerged from poverty last year, compared with 43.29 million in 2011.

"One of the biggest reasons for prolonged poverty in China is a dearth of education," said Xia Xueluan, a sociology professor with Peking University.

The village head of Mayi Village agrees. The official told Xinhua that because the boarding schools of Meigu County have a limit on the number of boarders, those who fail to obtain school housing must walk to school, a four-and-half-hour journey by foot.

"It is too far away, so many children like Little Calf simply drop out of school," he said.

In Liangshan, many rural residents have become drug addicts due to insufficient knowledge about drugs, he added.

Liangshan recorded 35,329 cases of HIV/AIDS from 1995 to 2014 and currently has 21,631 people living with HIV.

"If only the drug addicts had been educated, their life courses could be very different," said Jikeri, a local anti-drug police officer.

Another problem undermining the government's poverty relief efforts is widespread corruption of low-ranking officials and embezzlement of funds intended for agricultural development and poverty relief, Xia added.

FINDING A WAY OUT

Xia Xueluan said that a targeted poverty campaign is needed if China wants to effectively tackle the complicated issue.

"You cannot remove poverty by simply giving out money," Xia said. "You have to find out why people are cash-strapped: Is it because of a lack of work? Or is it due to a certain illness? Only in this way can limited resources precisely reach the particularly needy groups," Xia said.

He added that more education programs should be launched to help children in rural areas learn practical skills.

"Poverty-relief is a hard battle and it requires the concerted efforts from all of society," the professor said. "It is a long-term battle."

China is resolved to help the impoverished shake off the burden of poverty.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang said in July that the central government will reinforce evaluation of the poverty relief work of local governments at different levels.

He also said that China should raise funding for poverty relief from diversified channels and improve the infrastructure and public services in poor areas to help people find jobs, start businesses and get out of poverty.

The central treasury has allocated a 46.1-billion-yuan fund for poverty relief from the central budget this year, up 8 percent from last year.

Social media users are hoping that the efforts will help solve the issue more effectively.

"I hope that one day when I look into the eyes of those in Liangshan, I will not see tears and sadness, but hope and happiness," read a comment by Weibo user "_Edone." Endi