On July 6, the Information Office of Liaoning Provincial People’s Government held the second press conference of a thematic series titled “Improving People’s Wellbeing and Delivering Practical Services to Benefit the People”. The conference introduced the main measures, progress, highlights, and plans of Liaoning’s efforts this year, including further strengthening the safety net for people in difficulties and improving the basic pension service system.

In 2023, Liaoning has set the target to increase the urban and rural subsistence allowance standard by at least 5% on average, with the urban standard increasing by no less than 2% to match the development in rural areas. As a result, the average standard of urban and rural subsistence allowance in Liaoning has risen by 5.2%. More specifically, the urban standard has increased by 3.6% from 727 yuan to 753 yuan per month, with the highest standard of 925 yuan per month observed in Dalian. The rural standard has escalated by 6.8% from 6,754 yuan to 7,211 yuan per year, with Shenyang having the highest standard of 9,516 yuan per year.

In 2023, Liaoning continued to enhance the basic living and upbringing standard for orphans and de facto unattended children throughout the province. The monthly standard for children living in welfare institutions has increased from 2,178 yuan to 2,300 yuan, while the standard for children living at home has risen from 1,806 yuan to 1,978 yuan.

This year, the Liaoning Provincial Department of Finance has allocated 30 million yuan to support 100 service institutions (nursing homes) for the destitute. The funding has been used to improve the care capacity for the elderly, construct facilities for disabled care, as well as renovate and repair buildings. It is expected that the renovation and reconstruction tasks of all 100 service institutions for the destitute will be completed by the end of December 2023.

Since the beginning of 2023, the Disabled Persons’ Federations in Liaoning has implemented a range of measures to promote employment opportunities for people with disabilities. These measures include visiting companies to create job openings, innovating methods to increase employment, expanding channels to connect job seekers with employers, providing training and support for relevant positions, and offering policy support to stabilize employment. As of now, such efforts have resulted in the creation of 10,572 new job opportunities for people with disabilities, which represents 70% of the annual target. In addition, Liaoning will carry out accessibility renovations for 15,000 households of financially challenged families with disabilities in 2023, doubling the amount of workload compared to 2022.