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Premier Li assists Inner Mongolia villagers

Wang Qingyun
Updated: Sep 23,2014 5:35 PM     english.gov.cn

Premier Li Keqiang shakes hands with village residents in Ongniud Banner, Chifeng city of Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo/Inner Mongolia Daily]

Premier Li Keqiang wrote a letter to a village in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, saying he hopes residents will be able to increase their income.

Li visited the village located in Ongniud Banner, Chifeng city, on March 27.

Residents told him they did not have sufficient funds to repair roads in their village, which meant that it was difficult for them to transport their products out of the village.

They also told Li about some of their other problems, including that they found water-saving irrigation technology too costly, the electricity supply in their village was not stable, and village doctors did not earn enough.

Li asked local authorities to help the villagers solve the problems, and the government of Inner Mongolia later held a series of meetings to address these matters.

The authorities of Chifeng city and Ongniud Banner then renovated 350 homes in the village, completed two projects which gave all villagers access to safe drinking water, built 30 kilometers of road in the village, and upgraded the power grid.

The local government also organized training for 86 village women concerning skills including farming and raising livestock, dug 10 wells in the village and started an experiment to lower the cost of irrigation.

The villagers then wrote a letter to the premier on Aug 20, telling him about the changes in the past five months, and said all the residents are working together to lift the village out of poverty.

Premier Li Keqiang’s reply to the letter from village residents.[english.gov.cn]

On Sept 15, the premier wrote back.

“ With all my heart - I am happy about the changes in your village,” he wrote.

“I remember when we met and talked several months ago. The issues you brought up can be summed up as: lack of roads, lack of water, lack of electricity, lack of medical resources, and the need to protect the environment and improve the quality of the labor force.

These are not challenges that only concern your village - they are problems that limit the development of China’s rural areas, especially in North China. If these problems are solved, many impediments to the development of rural areas will be removed.” he said. “I hope you will conduct a careful review of your experience, explore suitable methods to increase your income - and also help more people in nearby villages boost their livelihood.”