With Chinese Characteristics

Fan Xiaojian, the director of the State Council Poverty-Elimination Office, said that in the last 30 years, China has made headway in its poverty alleviation programs. He explained China's poverty elimination project at the China-ASEAN Social Development and Poverty Shake-Off Forum. In the countryside, the population in absolute poverty dropped to 21.5 million in the year 2006 from 250 million in 1978. The poverty visibility rate has fallen from 30.7% to 2.3%. The low-income population decreased to 35.5 million in the year 2006 from 62.1 million in 2000; and now accounts for 3.7% of the rural population (previously 6.7%). In 6 years, China has reduced the number of its poor by 10.5 million at an average of 1.8 million per year.

The good news is that China is making headway in reducing poverty. That started when China opened its borders and welcomed trade and industry. No big surprise there.

But what is this?

Fan also said that the way to shake off poverty with Chinese characteristics lies within the leadership of the government, social involvement, self-reliance, poverty elimination by development, and all-around development.

Poverty with Chinese characteristics? What exactly does that mean? Is that type of poverty worse than say, poverty in the Middle East? Africa?

The government is always attaching "with Chinese characteristics" to everything. Socialism with Chinese characteristics; development with Chinese characteristics; health care with Chinese characteristics. Generally it denotes an inferior quality. Expats use this phrase in its derogatory form whenever possible. Tianamen Square was democracy with Chinese characteristics, etc.