Straightening Out the Safety Net

　　New measures to better coordinate social assistance and help prevent fraud

　　On January 2， 2014， the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council， China’s cabinet， released a draft of regulations on social assistance， in order to solicit public feedback.

　　The Provisional Methods on Social Assistance include provisions on allowances that would ensure a minimum level of living standards， support for the extremely impoverished， assistance for people affected by disasters， medical assistance， and assistance for education， housing， employment and other areas.

　　Violators of the regulations， including officials who fail to approve social assistance for eligible applicants and those who provide social assistance to ineligible applicants， will be held legally accountable， and those claiming social assistance through fraud will face penalties， according to the document.

　　It also pledges to give fiscal subsidies and tax breaks to social organizations engaged in social assistance programs.

　　Closing loopholes

　　China’s Constitution stipulates that citizens have the right to obtain material assistance from the government when they are old， ill or have lost the ability to work， and that the government should develop necessary social security， social assistance and healthcare systems so that people can exercise this right.

　　In 2012， government spending on social assistance exceeded 200 billion yuan ($33 billion)， said Kan Ke， Deputy Director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC)， China’s top legislature.

　　In the same year， 74.8 million urban and rural residents claimed minimum living allowances， 5.5 million poor rural households were guaranteed proper food， clothing， medical care， housing and funeral expenses， 78 million disaster victims received assistance， and 91.3 million people received medical assistance， according to Kan.

　　Despite this， in a considerable number of areas， local governments have failed to provide living allowances for needy rural residents that meet the standards set， said Li Liguo， Minister of Civil Affairs， in a report to a session of the NPC Standing Committee in October 2012.

　　Li added that shortage of professional workers and funding for county-level civil affairs authorities has also made it more difficult to effectively and properly administer social assistance programs.

　　Wu Wenying， a 46-year-old farmer in Hezhuang Village in Luyi County， central China’s Henan Province， did not get a minimum living allowance for her twin sons who suffer from cerebral palsy until her story was reported in the local media in 2009.

　　In addition to her twin sons， Wu has another son and a daughter. The family of six had to rely solely on the income of her husband Gao Songzhong， a bricklayer. About 20 years ago， the couple borrowed money to get the twins treated for their cerebral palsy， though the medical bills left them with difficult to manage debts.

　　Wu was illiterate and Gao did not finish primary school. The couple was not aware that the minimum living allowance has become available to rural residents all over the country since 2007.

　　Luyi has a disabled persons’ federation， which collects information on disabled persons from designated sources in towns and villages， but somehow information on Wu’s sons was not reported.

　　“Because of personnel shortage， it is impossible to verify information door to door，” an official with Luyi’s disabled persons’ federation surnamed Yin told China Youth Daily.

　　In 2009， a local newspaper wrote that Wu had taken care of her paralyzed sons for 19 years. Local government then began to issue a monthly minimum living allowance totaling 60 yuan ($10) for each of the twins.

　　But the meager amount of money was not enough to save Wu’s family from tragedy. On February 10， 2013， she gave poison to her twins， who drank it and died on the same day. Ten months later， Wu confessed to local police and was imprisoned.

　　At a press conference hosted by the State Council Information Office， Dou Yupei， Vice Minister of Civil Affairs， commented that medical and temporary relief are the least developed parts of China’s social assistance programs.

　　In response， the Provisional Methods on Social Assistance stipulate that if seniors， minors， seriously handicapped persons or persons with fatal diseases are still in difficulty after receiving minimum living allowance， the government at county level or above should take the necessary measures to guarantee their living standard.

　　Social assistance guarantees the subsistence right of needy and unfortunate people as well as safeguarding social equity， said Zheng Gongcheng， a professor at the Renmin University of China in Beijing.

　　Currently， social assistance recipients account for 6-8 percent of China’s population， yet government spending in the area is still low given the country’s annual fiscal revenue of more than 10 trillion yuan ($1.65 trillion)， Zheng said.

　　Over the past 10 years， Zheng has been calling for legislation on social assistance. According to him， China cannot have a solid and effective social assistance system without a legal basis.

　　Though drafting of the law reportedly began in 2005， there has been no report on its progress to date， to Zheng’s disappointment.

　　Fighting fraudulence

　　While some needy persons cannot receive minimum living allowances， some recognized recipients are not really in need.

　　In 2013， Xining City， capital of northwest China’s Qinghai Province， launched an inspection of the financial status of low-income families applying for or receiving minimum living allowances. The city’s civil affairs bureau compared the income and asset information provided by relief applicants with relevant data kept by housing， taxation， social security， as well as other government departments.

　　As of the end of 2013， the city had double checked the information of 71，558 relief recipients in 29，209 households， and found that 1，990 recipients in 663 households， 2.26 percent of the total， were not actually eligible.

　　In June 2010， the National Audit Office revealed that 62，900 ineligible households in 194 counties and districts across the country received 330 million yuan ($52 million) in minimum living allowances， and about 18 percent of those households owned private businesses， vehicles or more than two apartments.

　　Chen Wuxi， a retired worker in Beijing’s Mentougou District， had allegedly received more than 50，000 yuan ($8，260) in minimum living allowance given to him for eight years until he was accused of fraudulence by his step-brother in 2010. Chen was later discovered to be a multi-millionaire who had made a fortune from real estate investment. He owns several properties in Beijing.

　　An unnamed local official told Beijing-based Legal Weekend that the application materials Chen originally handed in showed that he was eligible. Although relevant regulations specify procedures to verify applicants’ financial status through home visits and interviews with applicants’ neighbors， the fraud Chen had committed on his application was not uncovered due to dereliction of duty by responsible officials.

　　After the fraud was unveiled， the local government ceased to issue a minimum living allowance to Chen.

　　Liu Xitang， an official with the Ministry of Civil Affairs， said that currently， civil affairs authorities does not have right to access some information relating to applicants for minimum living allowances and there are almost no legal provisions on penalties for applicants filing false information. Ultimately， civil affairs authorities can do little more than stop giving the allowance.

　　Gu Xi， a professor at the School of Government at Peking University， suggested that fraud of government assistance programs should be punished according to the Criminal Law.

　　To prevent fraud， the Provisional Methods on Social Assistance state that for those obtaining social assistance through fraudulent measures， relevant departments can terminate their allowance， order them to return any given money， and impose a penalty equaling up to three times of what had been fraudulently claimed. It also clarifies that social assistance applicants， recipients and administrators breaking the laws should shoulder corresponding criminal liabilities.

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