BEIJING - Having lost the ability to work more than a decade ago because of injuries on a construction site, Ji Zhengyu has a hard time making ends meet on an annual subsidy of 900 yuan ($138).

"The allowance is far from enough but it's better than no subsidy at all," said the 59-year-old farmer from Jiangdu city in East China's Jiangsu province.

He can barely manage to plant enough vegetables in the field to stay alive.

Across the country there are millions of people like Ji who are trying to survive on minimal allowances.

In order to improve their living standards, China will routinely adjust the subsistence allowance thresholds for urban and rural residents in line with price fluctuations and local economic development.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance and the National Bureau of Statistics announced the move on Wednesday.

The latest figures from the Ministry of Civil Affairs show that more than 23 million low-income residents in cities received an average monthly subsidy of 220 yuan, while 92 yuan was handed out to their 52 million rural counterparts.

The civil affairs bureau of Beijing revealed that since 2006 the capital has established a mechanism to modify subsistence allowance levels based on inflation and other factors, Beijing News reported.

In the municipality of Beijing, the monthly living allowance for urban residents reached 480 yuan in 2011, compared with 430 yuan the precious year. Meanwhile, the city's rural inhabitants receive 300 yuan a month, 90 yuan more than the 2010 level.

Fan Ming, director of the Institute of Market Economy at Henan University of Economics and Law, believes the move to modify the allowance for people living in abject poverty is necessary, given the recent hike in food prices and many cities lifting their minimum wage for workers. However, some low-income families complain that the adjustment did not keep pace with the jump in living expenses.

One Beijing resident surnamed Liu told Beijing News that his jobless wife and their infant child received subsidies from the government. Liu said his family could barely make ends meet as the minor increase in the allowance failed to keep up with prices.

"It's OK for adults to endure, but milk powder that is a must for our baby, even the cheapest one, costs about 100 yuan a box," Liu moaned.

Ge Daoshun, a professor of social policy with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that the real effects of the subsidies are decreasing.

Those relying on the slender subsidies, including the unemployed and people with disabilities, can only avoid starvation, Ge told China Daily.

Ge proposed that in the future the allowance should ensure that the disadvantaged group can benefit from the country's GDP growth and help to narrow the income gap between the poor and rich.

China Daily

(China Daily 05/20/2011 page2)