Winning the battle against poverty cannot be separated from the protection of the rule of law

Looking at some lessons and problems in past poverty alleviation work, the insufficiency of the force of the rule of law meant that the country's good policies could not be truly implemented, and it also let some lawbreakers exploit loopholes in the policies. Therefore, to win the battle against poverty, the force of the rule of law must be strengthened, so as to escort the battle against poverty.

The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting on November 23 and reviewed and approved the "Decision on Winning the Battle against Poverty". The meeting pointed out that Party committees and governments at all levels must take poverty alleviation and development work as a major political task, effectively enhance their sense of responsibility, mission and urgency, and ensure that by 2020, under the country's current standards, the rural poor population is lifted out of poverty, all impoverished counties are delisted, and regional overall poverty is resolved.

Poverty alleviation and development concerns building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, concerns improving the well-being of the people, concerns consolidating the Party's governing foundation, and concerns the long-term stability and security of the country. Winning the battle against poverty is a major measure to promote the sharing of the fruits of reform and development by all the people and to gradually achieve common prosperity, and it is also an important way to expand domestic demand and promote economic growth under the new normal of economic development. The central authorities require that unconventional measures must be adopted and solid methods must be used to resolutely win the battle against poverty. This puts forward clearer task objectives and requirements for future poverty alleviation work.

When the rule of law thrives, the country is secure; when the rule of law is strong, undertakings are guaranteed. The author believes that to win this battle against poverty, which concerns the overall situation, it is especially necessary to strengthen the force of the rule of law, so that the rule of law can play a protective and escorting role in the country's strategy for treating poverty and eliminating it.

Looking at some lessons and problems in past poverty alleviation work, most were related to the weakness or even absence of the relevant force of the rule of law. For example, some places played tricks in poverty alleviation and development, feigned compliance while opposing in secret, and were unwilling to put in real effort and do real work, resulting in the Party and the state's poverty alleviation policies being unable to reach the grassroots and the masses directly. This exposed the problem of insufficient supervisory and binding force of the rule of law over certain places. Another example is that certain illegal and irregular problems that appeared in past poverty alleviation, such as false reporting and fraudulent collection, interception and private division, embezzlement and misappropriation, and extravagant waste, directly exposed the absence or lack of supervision and oversight by the force of the rule of law. The weakness and absence of the force of the rule of law meant that the country's good policies could not be truly implemented, and it also let some lawbreakers exploit loopholes in the policies. Therefore, to win the battle against poverty, the force of the rule of law must be strengthened, so as to escort the battle against poverty.

On the one hand, the force of the rule of law must be brought into play to ensure the "precise" implementation of the Party and the state's poverty alleviation policies. In fact, implementing the Party's principles and policies and carrying out the correct decisions of higher-level Party committees and governments is itself a manifestation of handling affairs according to law. This is because the relevant poverty alleviation policies formulated by the Party and the state have a legal basis, and their purpose is also to achieve social fairness and justice, which is consistent with the purpose pursued by law and the rule of law. Therefore, in winning the battle against poverty, taking targeted measures for poverty alleviation, and achieving comprehensive poverty elimination, the rule of law has an unshirkable duty. In this regard, the safeguarding function of the rule of law for the implementation of poverty alleviation policies must be strengthened, so that it can witness and urge the precise implementation and precise landing of the relevant poverty alleviation policies. In particular, it should be pointed out that relevant departments should, according to law, supervise and inspect the implementation of various poverty alleviation policies by relevant regions, relevant departments and relevant responsible persons, ensure that the policies land safely, and do not let them encounter "midstream obstruction" or "endpoint obstruction". For those who fail to implement poverty alleviation policies as required, or who implement poverty alleviation policies ineffectively, accountability must be pursued according to law.

On the other hand, the protective and escorting function of the rule of law must be brought into play to safeguard the safety of all poverty alleviation funds. Although current poverty alleviation work advocates "supporting aspiration" and "supporting wisdom", poverty alleviation funds still play an irreplaceable role. Therefore, the force of the rule of law must be strengthened to supervise and oversee poverty alleviation funds, ensuring that "good steel" is used on the "blade". In particular, fiscal supervision and inspection, auditing, and inspection work must be strengthened according to law, a system for accountability for the irregular use of poverty alleviation funds must be established, and the safe "landing" of poverty alleviation funds must be guaranteed. In addition, discipline inspection and supervision organs should also resolutely punish according to strict standards illegal and irregular problems in the poverty alleviation field, such as false reporting and fraudulent collection, interception and private division, embezzlement and misappropriation, and extravagant waste. Where crimes are involved, judicial organs should intervene promptly and resolutely pursue the legal responsibility of the relevant responsible persons.