The Chinese government has set up a series of procedures to ensure donations effectively reach people in financial difficulty.

The measures comprise village-level selection, county-level examination and then official recording of needy people.

The Vice Minister of Civil Affairs, Li Liguo, recently said that civil affairs departments at all levels received donations totaling 2.1 billion yuan or US$260 million last year. Meanwhile, it also recorded donation of 53 million items of clothing.

To ensure donation is more convenient, China has set up 32,000 regular donation stations and over 4000 charity supermarkets across the country.

A "donation month" campaign has also been launched, scheduled for October each year.

In addition, the ministry has encouraged and supported more civil organizations to be involved in the donation of funds and goods.

In China, about 60 million people suffer from the effects of natural disasters each year and about 140 million senior citizens aged above 60 are in need of social assistance, according to the ministry.

More than 26 million farmers are still living in abject poverty. Without enough food and clothes, they earn less than 668 yuan, or US$81, which the country considers the abject poverty line, per capita each year.

There are a further 49.77 million rural people with an annual per-capita income of less than 924 yuan, or US$112, China's poverty line.

(CRI February 5, 2006)