Dubious methods won't alleviate poverty

A REPORT of the discipline and supervisory department of Weishi county, Henan province, says officials of a village in Shuipo town of the county made villagers draw lots to decide whose families would be identified as "poverty-stricken". China Youth Daily comments:

Two years ago, some towns in Ganzi Tibet autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province also organized a "lottery" to identify "poverty-stricken families" so they could get government subsidies. The grassroots officials use drawing of lots apparently to avoid offending any villager.

But that is not the right way to maintain harmony.