China will improve its social assistance system, enhance support for low-income groups, and ensure that the safety net is effective, accurate, and reliable, an official said on Tuesday in Beijing.
"We will effectively coordinate assistance resources to create the most powerful collective force in social assistance. We will intensify our efforts to advance "All-in-One-Go" reform in social assistance work. Guidance will be offered to local civil affairs departments to identify low-income populations, tiered and classified management with real-time monitoring will be practiced. A mechanism will be established featuring targeted support, classified assistance, and result feedback. This will make the process of rescue and assistance work traceable with timely feedback so as to build an extensive and tightly woven social safety net to ensure basic livelihoods," said Zhang Wei, head of the Social Assistance Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Specifically, China will accelerate the development of a national monitoring platform for low-income populations, improve the early warning system, and gradually expand monitoring coverage to provide timely assistance to eligible individuals, the official said.
Meanwhile, efforts will be made to promote the coverage of social assistance policies and identify families on the brink of poverty and those facing difficulties with rigid expenses. Relevant authorities will work together to extend special assistance, including medical support, to these families.
At the same time, the social assistance law will be introduced to provide strong legal support for basic livelihood protection, he added.
China to improve social assistance system, enhance support for low-income groups
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that the situation in Iran is "under total control" following violence linked to protests that spiked over the weekend.
Addressing foreign diplomats in Tehran, the foreign minister noted that armed terrorist groups had infiltrated the protests, attempting to divert them from their legitimate course. He claimed that evidence has been gathered showing Iranian security forces being shot at, with the aim of causing further casualties. He accused the United States and Israel of exploiting the unrest to interfere in Iran's internal affairs.
Araghchi further stated that the government is closely monitoring developments on the streets, emphasizing that "the situation has come under control." He also affirmed that internet services, curtailed during the unrest, would be restored after coordination with security agencies.
The government has engaged in dialogue with merchants and protest representatives and initiated reforms to address grievances related to price hikes and currency depreciation. Iran has taken a series of actions and measures to respond to the demands of peaceful demonstrators, the foreign minister said.
Earlier on Sunday, Araghchi said that clear evidence links recent riots and vandalism of public facilities in Iran to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. This came after former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned Mossad agents operating on Iran's streets in a social media post. The Iranian foreign minister asserted that police are being attacked by "terrorists" acting under the direction of Israeli operatives, whom Pompeo publicly acknowledged.
The protests initially erupted over a sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping subsidy reforms. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-linked agents and U.S. sanctions.
Iranian foreign minister says situation "fully under control," accuses Israeli intelligence of stoking unrest
