China held a ceremony in Beijing on Sunday to award national-level scholarships to college students from poor families with outstanding academic performances.

The scholarship program, titled "The National Scholarship", was founded in 2002 and is aimed at helping poor college students. About 50,000 such students receive the award each year.

State Councilor Liu Yandong said at the ceremony that the government would continue to provide aid to poor students despite the financial crisis.

Around 700 student representatives attended the ceremony. An evaluation team set up by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance selected the recipients.

(Xinhua News Agency February 23, 2009)