China News Service, Chengdu, March 4th, Question: Why can China create a miracle of poverty reduction?
The foreign anchor finds the answer in this small mountain village
Reporter He Shaoqing
"The common prosperity that I understand is not egalitarianism, nor is it that you can wait for common prosperity by sitting on the edge of the field or basking in the sun in the corner, but each of us, through our own efforts and struggles, makes the gap between us smaller and our lives better. The better it comes, the higher the standard.”
Li Jun, deputy to the National People's Congress.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Li Jun, deputy to the National People's Congress, is the Party branch secretary of Xiuyun Village, Baiyi Town, Cangxi County, Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province.
After the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, Li Jun, who graduated from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, gave up his high-paying job in Chengdu and returned to his hometown, Xiuyun Village, which was severely damaged.
For more than ten years, Li Jun has led the villagers to build roads to attract investment, develop characteristic agriculture, and explore the Internet to become rich, so that this "three-no" impoverished village with no cement roads, no resources and no pillar industries in the deep Qinba Mountains has developed into a local area. The well-known "get rich and take the lead in the village".
Li Jun, deputy to the National People's Congress.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Recently, the "Foreign Anchors Watching the Two Sessions" of China News Service and China News Network's "Two Sessions Through Train" specially invited Jiang Nan, an American host, actor and photographer who has lived in China for 24 years, to discuss common prosperity and rural revitalization. Talk to Li Jun on the topic of concern.
Special foreign anchor Jiang Nan.
Photo by Zhang Lang
The following is a summary of the interview transcript:
Jiang Nan: Hello, I am Jiang Nan, a special foreign anchor. What changes have taken place in Xiuyun Village before and after poverty alleviation?
Li Jun:
Xiuyun Village used to be a very remote and small mountain village.
In Cangxi County, the natural conditions, industrial development and infrastructure of Xiuyun Village are very backward.
But now every household in Xiuyun Village has access to the cement road, and most of the villagers live a "three-way life" - small foreign houses, cars, and fixed deposits ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. The happiness index of the common people is very high. Gao, this is the change before and after the poverty alleviation in Xiuyun Village.
Now I go back to the village, and every time I go out, I can't believe that the current Xiuyun Village has become so beautiful, and it is getting better every day.
Special foreign anchor Jiang Nan talks to Li Jun, deputy to the National People's Congress.
Photo by Zhang Lang
Jiang Nan: Many Western media reported that China's poverty alleviation work is too simple, because the standard setting is too low, what do you think?
Li Jun:
I don't think the standard is too low.
To be honest, the common people in our region did not solve the problem of eliminating absolute poverty in the process of poverty alleviation. The situation of absolute poverty does not exist in our local area. It is trying to make the villagers live a better life.
When my parents were young, it was a luxury to have a full meal and wear new clothes. Even when I was a child, I thought that wearing new clothes and eating meat was only for the New Year and the festival.
And the current life can be said to be "Chinese New Year" every day, eating meat every day and wearing new clothes at any time.
Last year, the per capita disposable income of our village reached more than 28,000 yuan, which exceeded the poverty alleviation standard by many times.
The economic conditions and development levels of each part of China are different to a certain extent. What poverty alleviation solves is not only absolute poverty, but also relative poverty.
What you're looking at is the bottom line, and we're actually many times above the bottom line.
Xiuyun Village is picturesque.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Jiang Nan: Does China's ability to eliminate absolute poverty and create the greatest miracle in the history of human poverty reduction has something to do with the institutional path it chose?
Li Jun:
The first reason why we can achieve great achievements in poverty alleviation is that we have the leadership of the Communist Party of China. The second reason is that we have hard-working people who are not waiting or relying on their own hands to change their status quo. .
Therefore, this is absolutely related to the institutional path. Without the Communist Party, there would be no New China, and without the leadership of the Communist Party, China would never have achieved such great achievements in poverty alleviation.
Xiuyun Village's poverty alleviation experience restaurant in Chengdu.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Jiang Nan: After China eliminated absolute poverty, it began to promote rural revitalization. In what way is Xiuyun Village revitalizing the countryside?
Li Jun:
In the past, we ordinary people raised chickens, ducks and pigs, and sold good agricultural products at good prices to achieve poverty alleviation, but to achieve prosperity and revitalization, in addition to hard work, we must broaden our horizons.
At present, our village is planning to realize the chain of restaurants.
We have a poverty alleviation experience restaurant in Chengdu. This restaurant actually sells agricultural products from our village to the city, so that good products can be sold at good prices.
Now we only have one store, and this year we plan to open more branches in Guangyuan and Chengdu.
With more branches, there are more problems that can be solved. In addition to employment, there is also the problem of rising agricultural products.
At present, our village is building a reception center. It used to take four and a half hours from Chengdu to our village. Next year, when the expressway opens to the gate of our village, it will only take two hours from Chengdu.
Therefore, we must not only allow agricultural products to go to the city, but also allow urban people to go to the village.
In the future, if you spend 10,000 yuan in the restaurant, you will be able to eat and live in the village for three to five days for free, experience rural life, farm labor, and realize the organic cycle of agricultural products entering the city and urban people going to the countryside.
Last year, the village also set up a building materials processing factory to provide sunshade nets, dust nets and other products to construction sites in Chengdu.
This is the first village-run collective enterprise in our village, which solves the problem of labor employment at the doorstep and realizes the growth of the collective economy at the same time.
In the future, we also plan to realize the branding of Xiuyun Village.
Xiuyun Village is not only the name of a village, but also a trademark and a brand.
This year, the special agricultural products such as pear cream and kiwi fruit drink in Cangxi County were affixed with the trademark of Xiuyun Village.
We hope that through these work, Xiuyun Village will finally achieve rural revitalization, achieve common prosperity, and allow every ordinary person to earn money.
Xiuyun Village is picturesque.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Jiang Nan: Will the common prosperity you mentioned cause losses to private property? How do you understand shared prosperity?
Li Jun:
First of all, common prosperity is definitely not about eating a big pot of rice, and it is not about sharing the money of the rich to those who have no money, so it is not tenable to let private property suffer.
The common prosperity I understand is not egalitarianism, nor is it that we can wait for common prosperity by sitting on the edge of the field and basking in the sun in the corner, but each of us, through our own efforts and struggles, makes the gap between us smaller and our lives more and more The better, the higher the bar.
When everyone reaches a higher standard, our common prosperity will be realized.
As far as Xiuyun Village is concerned, the only thing we can do is to do the things we mentioned earlier, one by one, to help the people change the status quo of their lives.
Rural revitalization is a major historical opportunity for all rural areas in China. In the face of major historical opportunities, everyone is equal and everyone has a chance.
So I think it is actually a struggle, because happiness comes from struggle, and common prosperity comes from struggle.
Villagers in Xiuyun Village play chess under street lamps.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Jiang Nan: In recent years, more and more Chinese farmers are becoming e-commerce entrepreneurs. What opportunities and challenges do you think Internet digital technology brings to Chinese rural areas?
Li Jun:
Judging from the development history of Xiuyun Village, Internet digital technology has played a key role in the development of Xiuyun Village.
From a technical point of view, the chickens, ducks and pigs in our Xiuyun Village have very beautiful names such as Time Chicken, Years Duck and Nianhua Pig, because we can trace the origin and breeding time of these agricultural and livestock products through the Internet. Help make it more valuable.
Secondly, we will tell the story of Xiuyun Village on the short video platform, so that more people know and understand Xiuyun Village, so as to accept the products of Xiuyun Village.
Special foreign anchor Jiang Nan.
Photo by Zhang Lang
Jiang Nan: What suggestions did you bring to the two sessions this year? Has there been substantial progress in the recommendations you have come up with in the past?
Li Jun:
The suggestions I have mentioned in the past few years are mainly related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers, including industrial development and retaining talents for the countryside.
These suggestions have received relatively efficient responses from relevant departments, and have also promoted the introduction of many policies that are conducive to rural development.
Last year, I proposed to prohibit the provision of financial services with excessive consumption to school students. The relevant departments soon issued corresponding policies and received widespread attention from the society.
I will continue to make suggestions on rural revitalization this year, the first of which is the issue of rural waste management.
Because the standard of living in rural areas is now high, the disposal of garbage, including express packaging, has become a problem.
Especially before and after the Spring Festival, there is a lot of garbage, which has an impact on the construction of beautiful rural areas. We must eradicate the garbage problem in rural areas.
At the same time, I also suggest that we continue to increase support for young entrepreneurs who have returned to their hometowns and give them more protection.
Jiang Nan:
Thank you for your answer and sharing today. You have introduced us to the changes that are taking place in so many Chinese villages. I wish you success in your work and the National Two Sessions.
Li Jun:
Thank you, Teacher Jiang. You are welcome to have the opportunity to visit Xiuyun Village and see the changes in Xiuyun Village.
Jiang Nan:
Get what you want.
(over)