Poverty points system brings better future for rural poor

By:Xinhua
update:July 06,2018

CHANGCHUN, July 6, 2018 -- In China's battle against poverty, northeast Jilin Province has found a new way to help poor and vulnerable residents.

Beginning in 2018, impoverished locals in the Korean Autonomous Prefecture of Yanbian are allowed to exchange points for daily necessities instead of paying money in certain shops.

Hu Faying, 45, is a resident of Huangnihe Town in the city of Dunhua. Finding a well-paid job is very difficult for her as she suffers from dwarfism.

Income for her family mainly comes from the local government's basic living allowance and a very small profit makes as a street vendor.

The new method of exchanging credits for goods is a new way to "earn some money" for Hu.

Like many other impoverished families, Hu rarely cleaned her home in the past. But making her house clean and neat, as well as improving the surroundings now brings her points every month.

"I redeemed 120 points that I have accumulated over the past four months for some washing powder and toilet paper in the shop," Hu said, adding that one point equals one yuan (0.15 U.S. dollars).

Over the past six months, 16 towns in the city of Dunhua have established government-led "poverty relief shops."

The one in Hu's town is actually located in a supermarket. It sells kitchen and toilet products, as well as some food, with prices ranging from one to 40 points.

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