China's welfare spending jumps by more than a third

BEIJING -- China spent a record 106 billion yuan (14.7 billion U.S. dollars) on welfare programs last year, with almost a fifth of the funding coming from record lottery revenues.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Thursday that welfare expenditure increased by 34.6 percent over the previous year.

A major sources of funding for social welfare programs, the Welfare Lottery, which contributed more than 21 billion yuan, saw a 25.1-percent rise in sales to 63 billion yuan last year.

The government spent more than 27 billion yuan on guaranteed subsistence allowances for needy urban people, up 23.7 percent from 2006, and allocated 10 billion yuan to needy rural households, 150 percent more than the 2006 figure, according to the Ministry.

About 19 billion yuan went to comfort and compensate families of accidents or natural disasters, while healthcare assistance fees in urban and rural areas, 1.25 billion yuan and 2.35 billion yuan respectively, both increased sharply by about 150 percent.

China launched its first lottery in June 1987 and stipulates that a minimum of 35 percent of takings must go to the welfare sector.