Capital City Shows Care for Ethnic Minorities

Municipal authorities of Beijing, China's capital, have paid great attention to economic development and social progress in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities.

There are some 480,000 people of minority ethnic groups in Beijing, and a large number of them live in 5 townships and 109 villages in the suburbs. To help people there develop the economy, the municipal government has set up a 2-million-yuan fund, and also offered preferential policies and technologies to them.

With rapid economic growth, the per capita income reached 3,845 yuan in the townships and villages in 1999, far above the national average.

Beijing has now 34,980 ethnic-minority government functionaries, accounting for 4.14 percent of the city's total.

In addition, the city has also provided various assistance for other provinces and autonomous regions, such as Tibet and Inner Mongolia, authorities said.

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