Moving Mountains

A remote location， away from highways and transport； scarcity of natural resources， which hampers the development of pillar local industries； and lack of education are the major causes of poverty in most of the underdeveloped areas in China. Next comes the demographic structure. When the population of a place consists of a large number of the old， differently abled and those suffering from diseases， it is diffi cult to bring them out of poverty by implementing the measures taken for other demographies on the assumption that one size fi ts all.

This is where the concept of targeted poverty alleviation comes in. The government has been formulating different policies for places with different characteristics， and these can be microscopic when needed， such as targeting single villages or even individuals.

Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province， southwest China， home to the Yi ethnic minority， is one of the most destitute areas in the country. It is among the places which were in deep poverty in the past and are now in the fi nal stage of poverty alleviation. In Liangshan， the government initiated poverty alleviation policies such as relocation， providing subsidies， pairing the area with better developed places for partnership assistance， and facilitating access to education.

The “one kindergarten， one village”program helps Yi children， who once spoke only the Yi language， learn Mandarin before admission in primary school so as to better follow the national curriculum. Roads， schools and hospitals have been built to improve living conditions and access to tap water has been expanded.

However， given the areas remote location， besides poverty alleviation work， there is also the need to ensure that those who have been lifted out of poverty do not fall back into it again. There is still a long way to go to consolidate the achievements and help Liangshan enjoy long-term development.

Once the people in the remaining pockets of poverty step into a moderately prosperous society as scheduled， the goal to ensure everyone has enough food and clothing， access to compulsory education， basic medical services and safe housing will be realized. This goal， according to ancient texts， was one of the objectives pursued during the golden age in Chinas history. And in modern China， the government has pledged that not a single person will be left behind when a moderately prosperous society in all respects is built.

At the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012， poverty alleviation became a mission to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects and the Party led the nation， including all ethnic groups， to wage a war on poverty. Today， with the fi ght coming to the fi nal push， there is great concern about its progress both at home and abroad. Especially in view of the novel coronavirus epidemic， there is apprehension that the disruptions may cast a shadow on the poverty alleviation work.

However， the emerging facts and fi gures prove that solid progress has been made and not a single person， regardless of age， gender or ethnicity， will be left behind.