Chinese government plans to launch a new round of national campaign to help ethnic minorities shake off poverty in the next five years as a part of building a harmonious society. This time, 640 remote and poverty-stricken administrative villages in 22 sparsely populated ethnic regions have been chosen as the main targets for the national campaign.

Unlike the western countries, Chinese government lays more emphasis on improving infrastructures in the ethnic minorities residency and promoting economic development rather than simply providing financial aids to those in need.

State Council reviewed and passed and will implement the Plan on supporting the development of ethnic minorities (2005--2010) in the latter half this year.

The Oroqen nationality, with a population around 8,000, is the smallest ethnic minority so far in China. Before the founding of new China, the Oreqens lived under the primitive commune system in the dense birch forest. But nowadays, the Oreqens have bid farewell to the insecure nomadic life and turned to mechanical agricultural production thanks to the governmental support. Local residents not only built potato starch plants and wooden ware processing plants, but also popularized native products such as edible fungus, brake tender leaves etc. to the rest of the country.

By People's Daily Online