China says poverty in ‘Tibet’ set to end this year

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Poor Tibetan childrens in Tibet. (Photo courtesy: Tibet.ca)

(TibetanReview.net, Nov25’19) – Poverty will be a thing of the past in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) half of Tibet proper as the remaining 150,000 poverty-stricken people living in 19 counties will be declared free of it by the end of this year, reported China’s official Xinhua news agency Nov 24. However, given persistent reports that poverty alleviation measures are denied to those who do not denounced Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, or refuse to offer praise and gratitude to the Chinese leadership, any claim of success is bound to remain a propaganda ploy.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Socialism with Chinese Characteristic for a New Era envisages that absolute poverty will be eradicated across the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by the end of 2020. And the TAR authorities have set themselves a propaganda goal of declaring their achievement a year ahead.

The report cited the regional poverty alleviation office as saying 18 counties and a county-level district in the cities of Xigaze (Tibetan: Shigatse), Qamdo (Chamdo), Nagqu (Nagchu) and Ngari Prefecture had passed preliminary assessments conducted by local authorities. They are expected to be taken off the poverty list after receiving approval from the local population, the report added.

The report said the 19 areas, all located in high-altitude and remote areas, were once the poorest in the region. However, they have now met a series of delisting requirements, including the lowering of the comprehensive poverty head-count ratio in these areas to below 3 percent, it added.

TAR continues to remain the poorest region of the PRC and this situation is not expected to change even officially.

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