A school girl of the Hani ethnic minority attends classes at a primary school in Qingkou village, Yuanyang County, southwestern China's Yunnan Province, Wednesday, May 16, 2007. The girl is among 120,000 school girls in Yunnan who have benefited from the Spring Bud Plan initiated in the province since 1994. The Spring Bud Plan, launched by China Children and Teenager's Fund (CCTF) in 1989, is aimed at helping girl dropouts in poverty-stricken areas return to school. [Photo: Xinhua]

 

 

The Chinese government has vowed to continue poverty-relief efforts in the country's ethnic minority areas through enhanced policies and measures.

 

The State Ethnic Affairs Commission says some ethnic areas in the country remain relatively poor, reflecting geographic or historic factors, despite years of poverty-reduction efforts.

 

The commission says the central government will continue supporting development of key industries in ethnic areas, conduct training for local labor forces, establish comprehensive social assistance systems, and step up direct assistance for the poverty-trapped local populations.

 

(CRI.cn May 17, 2007)