The ministries of finance and civil affairs have distributed about 9.66 billion yuan (US$1.42 billion) among the needy to help them celebrate Spring Festival.

The unprecedented aid package, with one-off payments, will benefit more than 74 million people amid the financial crisis, a senior official has said.

By noon yesterday, money had been deposited in more than 50 million people's accounts, said Gao Huajun, in charge of the Ministry of Civil Affairs' minimum living allowance subsidy program.

The beneficiaries include 62.8 million people who get minimum living allowance, and 5.3 million unemployed or people without relatives who get necessities such as food, clothing, healthcare and housing from local governments. About 6.4 million people getting state subsidy are also among the beneficiaries.

According to the aid package, people getting minimum living allowances will get 100 yuan if they live in rural areas and 150 yuan if they reside in cities. The average monthly living allowance paid to the needy in 2007 was 182.4 yuan in urban and 70 yuan in rural areas.

The central government decided to hand out "lucky money" or hongbao to help the needy overcome their financial woes brought about by the global economic slowdown.

"Only by improving people's lives, especially for lower-income and poor families, can we build a solid base for the country's steady and swift economic development," Vice Minister of Civil Affairs Jiang Li said on January 9.

Speaking during a national videoconference in Beijing to launch the aid package, Jiang called on governments at all levels to ensure accurate and transparent distribution of the subsidy before January 24, two days before Spring Festival.

Local authorities will have to report the daily progress of the distribution scheme to the ministry, he said.

A number of local governments have taken special measures to complement the ministries' efforts to help the needy.

Authorities in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, have raised the subsidy to 515 yuan per person in urban and 350 yuan in rural areas.

In Hubei Province, about 93 percent of the about 3.43 million eligible people had reportedly got the money by Tuesday.

"We will inspect bank transfers to ensure the money is distributed properly," said Zhao Xianfu, director of the local civil affairs department's minimum living allowance subsidy center.

Hu Sanjian, a minimum living allowance recipient in Wuhan, capital of Hubei, was surprised to find he had received a 300-yuan subsidy on Wednesday. The 54-year-old, who was laid off recently, was also given five bags of rice, edible oil and fish by the civil affairs department.

And he got a 800-yuan voucher from the city's federation of trade unions with which he can buy supplies at local department stores.

Hu plans to use the money to purchase food and supplies for a big family reunion dinner on the eve of Spring Festival. "It means a lot for me and my son," he said.

(China Daily January 22, 2009)