China's Impoverished Population Down to 30 Million

China'impoverished population dropped from 250 million in 1978 to 30 million in 2000, according to a white paper published by the State Council Information Office in October 2001. That number represents 3% of the total rural population. The Chinese government in the 1980s had set a goal of clothing and feeding the rural poor by the end of the century. That goal has been met. This was the result of a systematic effort to alleviate poverty. In view of the fact that the impoverishe…