Enhanced supervision for targeted poverty alleviation

A prosecutor from Anding District Procuratorate in Dingxi City, Gansu Province, looks at the poverty relief fund distribution in Kangjiazhuang Village on February 25 2016. [Photography by reporter Nan Maolin]

It’s the Chinese Communist Party’s ultimate goal to eliminate poverty and achieve prosperity for all citizens.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and the central government attach great importance to poverty alleviation, regarding it as one of the foremost problems facing the country. A series of new measures have been put forward and implemented, and poverty alleviation has become an important issue for the 13th five-year plan. The very first meeting after the fifth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee focused on poverty alleviation.

On a visit to Fuping County, Hebei Province, President Xi said, “What makes me very unhappy, even angry, is that some poverty funds have been intercepted by governmental organizations and used for other purposes. Intercepting poverty relief funds is the same as retaining disaster relief funds for other uses, and it’s a crime. There is also cheating with fund applications. We must discover such things quickly, correct them, and resolutely oppose them, preventing such things from ever happening again.”

At the Central Poverty Alleviation Work Conference, Xi again reiterated, “The poverty relief fund is the lifeline for the poor; we must not misuse even a single penny, and we must not cheat in anyway.”

The key is to ensure that the funds will be used in the right places, an issue that the Chinese government has always been highly concerned about.

Acting as a watchdog under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the procuratorate organ has strengthened cooperation with all departments to actively investigate and prevent job-related crimes involving poverty alleviation funds in recent years. It has strived to enhance supervision for targeted poverty alleviation, ensure that policies and funds are put into place, and provide strong judicial support for the poverty alleviation campaign.

Targeted supervision to help the poverty alleviation campaign

At the Central Poverty Alleviation Work Conference on November 27, 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping declared war against poverty. “We vow to win the battle against poverty with hard work, great effort, and a clear target, ensuring that all people living below the poverty line and in poverty-stricken areas will be part of a prosperous society by 2020.”

In order for leaders to fulfill their responsibilities, Xi said they must always think of the people who live in poverty, visiting them from time to time and sitting down with them in their own homes. Leaders at all levels must direct their focus towards the grassroots level and find innovative ways to resolve the problems facing the poverty alleviation campaign.

Soon after the first central document of 2015 on agricultural modernization was released, Cao Jianming, Procurator-General of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, paid a two-day visit to Henan Province on February 11. He examined agricultural related supervisory work and looked into how agricultural reform and development could be better served. Cao stressed the importance for procuratorate organs at all levels to strongly punish anyone who has committed job-related crimes that hurt farmers’ legal rights.

On December 7 2015, the Procurator-General hosted a conference on poverty alleviation. “We must severely punish those who embezzle, intercept, cheat, or squander the relief fund.” Cao said. The conference also specified key areas for the supervision and prevention work to focus on.

On February 23 2016, less than a year after Cao’s previous trip to Gansu Province, the Procurator-General returned to review the progress of poverty alleviation. At the poverty alleviation office in Huining County, Baiyin City, Gansu Province, Cao stressed that a lack of information disclosure could lead to misuse of relief funds. He asked local officials to clearly disclose information on poverty alleviation projects, including the sources and uses of funds. Cao said it’s the procuratorate organ’s responsibility to assure the public and central government that the funds have been put to proper use.