NPC deputy vows to push rural revitalization after poverty alleviation

People celebrate the Water-Splashing Festival at a square in Jinghong, southwest China’s Yunnan province, April 15, 2018. (Photo/People’s Daily Online)

China has made remarkable achievements in its poverty alleviation. However, Luo Aying, a deputy to the National People’s Congress (NPC), is aiming farther and making efforts to advance rural revitalization. At present, Luo is attending the ongoing second session of the 13th NPC in Beijing. She carries a notebook wherever she goes. “I wrote the wishes of my fellow villagers in the first half of my notebook and what I learned from the meetings in the second half,” she told People’s Daily, adding that she would bring the good news to his fellow villagers after going back home. Luo and her fellow villagers are from the ethnic minority group Jino. They live in the forest-blanketed mountains in Jinghong, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan province. Thanks to the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Jino people, most of who lived in primitive mountain tribes entered socialist society.

It has been 40 years since the Jino people were officially acknowledged in 1979 as the 56th independent ethnic group of China. The past 40 years, according to Luo, witnessed the hard work and joint efforts of the Jino people. As the only NPC deputy from Jino ethnic minority group, Luo said she carries heavy responsibilities. Luo, who is the secretary of the Party committee of Luote village, Jino ethnic township, knows everything about the history, population, cultural customs and industries of the village. She often visits the impoverished households in her village with her colleagues to help them get rid of poverty.

By attracting investment and new projects, as well as the poverty alleviation plans tailored for the impoverished households, the livelihood of the people in Luote village has been gradually improved in recent years. “Now every village has hardened roads, which has made it more convenient for vendors to come to buy our teas,” Luo said, adding that many households have bought motorcycles and even cars. Smartphones are also very common there, she told People’s Daily. Though the village is prospering day by day, Luo can still feel the responsibilities she carries. She said she must make the young labor force stay and achieve better development of the village. Therefore, she raised a proposal at the NPC session this year to increase the income of rural doctors and grass-root cadres, hoping to guarantee the sustained development of the rural areas. “After overcoming poverty, we must advance rural vitalization,” she said, adding that they will always follow the steps of the Party, and roll up their sleeves to build a better future.

By Zhao Bing, Li Maoying & Wang Hailin

(People’s Daily)