ABSTRACT
Anxi County is one of the poorest in China. This chapter explores the reasons for this, and the measures taken by the central, provincial and county governments to eradicate poverty, and their success. It examines how the Singapore Chinese, in part through encouragement of government officials, have provided material and financial resources to help eradicate poverty and to make the qiaoxiang prosperous. The development in Anxi County can be divided into two main periods. The first began with the Communist Party’s assumption of power in 1950 and ran until 1978. The second started with Deng Xiaoping’s 1978 reform, when his famous phrase, ‘it does not matter whether a cat is black or white, it is a good cat if it catches mice’, ushered in a new period of rapid development. The impact of shrinking agricultural areas has been felt in recent years. Luxury items like cigarettes and beer have also suffered a price hike, as a result of increased consumption.
