I read some materials that reported that at the beginning of 2012, a county in a certain province was identified as a national-level poverty-stricken county, and the county government posted "great news" on its website, warmly congratulating it on its successful inclusion in the national concentrated contiguous poverty-stricken areas. In another case, two counties competed for the hat of a national-level poverty-stricken county, and the defeated county magistrate said with tears in his eyes that the reason why we did not win the poverty-stricken county this time was because our county was really too poor. In fact, in 2005, it was among the top 100 counties in the country, and in 2011, due to media exposure, the qualification of national poverty-stricken counties was cancelled. It is said that there are 17 national-level poverty-stricken counties on the list of the top 100 counties in the basic competitiveness of the county economy in the 11th country, the top 100 counties in central China, and the top 100 counties in western China. For this phenomenon, the relevant departments should study it, take off the hat that should be taken, and don't wear it if it shouldn't be worn, there is nothing to take care of!

——Speech on Inspecting Poverty Alleviation and Development Work in Fuping County, Hebei Province (December 29-30, 2012)

Further reading:

At present, poverty alleviation has entered a sprint stage, and to ensure that the rural poor will be lifted out of poverty by 2020, the time is tight and the task is heavy. Xi Jinping's stories of competing for the "poverty hat" reveal the deep-seated problems in the process of poverty alleviation.

At the beginning of 2012, a county in Hunan hung up a large electronic screen and wrote in a grand manner: "Warm congratulations to × County on its successful inclusion in the national concentrated contiguous poverty-stricken areas and become the main battlefield of national poverty alleviation in the new era", and it was noted on the payment that it was announced by the county party committee and the county government. After this photo was exposed on the Internet, it immediately attracted widespread attention from public opinion. According to an article on the county's official website entitled "× County Successfully Included in the National Concentrated Contiguous Special Difficult Areas", in order to seize the opportunity of the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" national poverty alleviation and development policy, the county government took entering the scope of national key poverty alleviation as the primary goal and task in the "two key and three main" work system. In this regard, many netizens pointed out that being rated as a poor county is "happy", but it is actually happy to receive poverty alleviation funds, and "showing off poverty" values the resources of poor counties.

As early as when Xi Jinping was working in Ningde, Fujian, he emphasized that poverty alleviation must first be supported. He often said, "The weak bird can be expected to fly first, and the poor may be rich first, but whether we can achieve 'flying first' and 'getting rich first' depends first on whether we have this kind of consciousness in our minds." When promoting poverty alleviation in Ningde, Xi Jinping repeatedly emphasized that the "awareness of poverty" should be diluted ideologically, and "it is entirely possible for poor areas to rely on their own efforts, policies, strengths, and advantages to 'fly first' in specific areas to make up for the disadvantages caused by poverty."

A "poverty cap" can not only be exchanged for large fiscal transfers, but also means that various policies are inclined and special care is given. In fact, behind the struggle to wear the "poverty hat" is the lack of fighting spirit to get rid of poverty, and the psychology of dependence on waiting for dependence. By telling the story of competing for the "poverty hat", Xi Jinping wants to show that "poverty alleviation first helps the will" and "poverty alleviation must help the wisdom", and cannot lose the fighting spirit of poverty alleviation and produce a dependency mentality. Striving to wear the "poverty hat" is like fighting a fire with a salary, and the fire will not be extinguished.

To get rid of poverty, first and foremost, it is not only to get rid of material poverty, but also to get rid of spiritual "poverty". Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed that "we must attach importance to giving full play to the initiative spirit of the grassroots cadres and masses, so that their hearts can be warmed up and they can take action, and rely on hard work to change the face of poverty and backwardness." Only by rejuvenating the initiative, enthusiasm and creativity of the cadres and masses in poverty-stricken areas can external assistance stimulate endogenous motivation and obtain a steady stream of energy for poverty alleviation. All in all, a well-off society in an all-round way is not something that comes by waiting, but something that comes out of it.