GUIYANG, June 12 -- In a secluded village in the mountains of Guizhou Province, China's smallest political parties is becoming a household name for its door-to-door fight against poverty.

The Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League (TSL) has only 2,700 members, all of them Taiwan natives living on the Chinese mainland. It is one of the eight political parties that have allied with the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).

While influencing China's politics by advising the central government, the party also serves as a donation lobbyist and think tank for the impoverished ethnic Miao village of Haique.

To mark this year's Children's Day, they provided 12 tablet computers to local kids. Dropping off the gift on June 4, they were greeted by Yang Fubi, a village resident, who donned her most elaborate ethnic garb to welcome the "distinguished guests".

The TSL has gone far beyond small gifts to disadvantaged children to help the village, Yang, who calls members of the political party "family", said.

Over the past decade, TSL has helped secure 11 million yuan (1.7 mln U.S. dollars) in donations for Hezhang, the village's destitute county which was selected as a recipient for aid by the party. About 1.5 million yuan went to Haique under Hezhang.

The amount stunned residents, who joke a year's wage in the village is just enough to buy one piece of clothing.

With the money, the village built a primary school equipped with computers and a basketball court, new cisterns and its first clinic.

But Liu Jianping, Communist party secretary of Hezhang, said what really changed the fate of the county was TSL's "intellectual support", or their advice on the local economy.

The county now has a booming walnut industry, raking in a yearly income of 1 billion yuan. But in the past, few farmers were interested in cultivating the industry due to the inefficiency of primitive farming techniques, which required heavy work for little output, Liu said.

To solve the problem, TSL invited renowned agricultural experts to guide local farming. After walnuts became popular among local farmers, the county followed the party's suggestion to build factories making beverages, candy and oil out of the nuts.

"They have invited specialists to advise us on everything from animal husbandry to scenic site construction to town planning," Liu said.

Instead of launching an anti-poverty effort such as the blood transfusion campaign in the 90s, "they helped improve our ability to form our own blood".

China had 70 million people living under the national poverty line at the end of last year. Among anti-poverty campaigns struggling with the uphill battle, TSL stands out with its intellectual resources.

Huang Zhixian, vice chairman of the TSL Central Committee, said many TSL members are specialized in technology and agriculture, whose wisdom and network of contacts prove invaluable to counties like Hezhang.

The party's extensive network in Taiwan is another strength. Local officials said TSL has arranged for more than 40 Taiwan merchants to visit the mountain county in the past few years, where, unlike China's coastal regions, such investors are rare.

The merchants visited in search of market potential, but played a role in assisting a local tea brand take-off after a visiting expert met with the business.

"Our TSL members live with the dream to project Hezhang into affluence. We've helped them get rid of poverty (in the past ten years), and we aim to help it become rich in the coming decade," Huang said.