Official calls for close supervision of orphan allowance
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Chinese Vice Premier Hui Linagyu Thursday urged efforts be made to supervise the distribution and use of the living allowance for orphans.
Tighter supervision should be maintained to make sure that basic living allowances were paid to orphans in a timely and sufficient manner, said Hui in Beijing at a high-level conference discussing the work to support orphans.
The central government has allocated over 2.5 billion yuan (around 379 million U.S. dollars) as dedicated funds for the allowance policy in 2010, according to a circular jointly issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Minister of Finance in late November.
According to the circular, orphans under the age of 18 living in eastern, central or western regions will receive monthly allowance of 180 yuan, 270 yuan or 360 yuan respectively.
The policy was part of China's still-to-be-perfected orphan support system.
A sound orphan support system that suits China's economic-social development level would be a "milestone" in the progress of the country's children welfare initiative, said Hui.
He said family members and relatives of orphans, welfare institutions, governments and charity groups should make concerted efforts to guarantee orphans' rights to education, healthcare, employment and housing.
Hui said more charity funds and volunteers should be encouraged to join the orphan support system.
