The Ministry of Civil Affairs is in the final stages of drafting a policy document on a national social security system that for the first time will cover neglected rural areas, an official said yesterday.

The document will be submitted to the State Council before Spring Festival, which falls on February 18 this year, for approval, an official with the ministry's department of subsistence security, Sun Yang, said.

After the State Council approval, the ministry will join hands with local governments to set up the system, he said.

Earlier, Vice Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo had said that the national rural social security system, expected to benefit about 3.5 percent of the rural population, would be in place by June.

At present, 26 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions operate their own rural social security systems.

But the new policy will help establish a uniform system across the country, and expand the network to six provinces and autonomous regions of Hubei, Yunnan, Guizhou, Ningxia, Xinjiang, and Tibet, Sun said.

Also, for the first time the central government would set aside funds for rural social security once the national system is in place.

The central government now provides funds for such a system only in urban areas.

"The central government will grant subsidies to areas, depending on their needs and development," Sun said.

Local governments, too, would have to allocate funds to run the system and set their own standards for people eligible for help.

"The eligibility criteria will be determined on the basis of the national poverty line, that is, an annual income of 683 yuan (US$88)," Sun said.

The Guangdong provincial government raised the poverty line in the rural areas last year from a yearly income of 1,000 yuan (US$129) to 1,200 yuan (US$155).

Yang Tuan, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Social Policy Research Center, said a uniform nationwide system would be a big step forward for social policies.

But, she said, an effective supervision mechanism is needed to ensure a fair and transparent system.

For instance, it's difficult to calculate the exact amount of a farmer's annual income and that may result in an unfair distribution of money.

One of the solutions, Yang said, is to hold village meetings and let villagers decide who is entitled to the benefits.

(China Daily February 7, 2007)