Official misappropriating funds for poverty relief must be punished

ON WEDNESDAY, the National Audit Office reported to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, that local governments had misappropriated 151 million yuan ($22.75 million) of poverty alleviation funds and wasted another 870 million yuan. Beijing Times comments:

By setting up the national poverty alleviation fund with taxpayers' money, the central government wanted to help the poorest members of society and share the prosperity of the nation. By doing so, it is helping the rest of society, too, because crime rates will rise if social gaps continue widening.

That's why the local government officials that embezzle or misuse these funds cause serious negative effects. When they embezzle and waste millions of yuan, that means millions of poor people are deprived of the hope of changing their situation for the better.