CRI听力:Home Appliance Subsidy Program in Tibet

Anchor: In a move to boost rural consumption, China has rolled out the subsidy program "home appliances to the countryside". Local farmers and herdsmen in Nagqu in southwestern China's Tibet Autonomous Region enjoy a greater subsidy compared with the buyers in other provinces.

Zhang Wan finds out more.

When we travel around the north of Tibet, Zhaxi Gongbu, a local herdsman invites us to his house on the Qiangtang grassland of Nagqu.(www.hXen.com)

Taking a seat in the well-decorated sitting room, we are surprised that the hospitable hostess offers us freshly-made buttered tea in just two minutes. As far as I know, making buttered tea is a rather complicated, time-consuming process, but how does she make it so fast?

She shows us her new electronic churning machine, and says she doesnn't have to make their favorite buttered tea by the repetitive and boring churning process with the traditional wooden bucket and rod. She can do it by simply pressing a button.

They get the machine at a very low price, thanks to the nation's subsidy plan, namely "home appliances to the countryside".

In December 2007, China launched the subsidy plan, under which the government provided a 13-percent subsidy to rural residents who buy designated brands of home appliances including color TV sets and refrigerators in some provinces of the country.

Different from the policies of inland provinces, rural residents in Tibet can enjoy a 20-percent subsidy when buying designated brands of home appliances. In addition, more categories of home appliance have been included.

Suolang Jiacuo, director of the marketing office of Nagqu Commerce Bureau explains:

"The subsidy plan has been initiated in Tibet since May this year. In Tibet, the government gives seven percent more subsidy to rural buyers compared with the national standard of 13 percent in other provinces. Furthermore, we have also carried out the subsidy plan for rural residents who buy designated furniture including beds, cabinets and Tibetan rugs in a bid to work with the housing project in Tibet."

In one of the designated shops, we see many local residents choosing washing machines. Ma Weizhong is the shopkeeper.

"This is a product under the subsidy plan. They sell very well so far. We have more customers nowadays. In other provinces of the country, buyers have to get reimbursement at the local finance office after purchasing at the full price, but here we deduct 20 percent of the price when they pay for the product. Then we get reimbursement from the government once a month afterwards."

Located in north Tibet, Nagque has vast territory of about 420,000 square kilometers with a sparse population of around 360,000. Suolang Jiacuo talks about the challenges of carrying out the subsidy plan here.

"The major problem we are facing nowadays is the delivery of the goods. As local residents live very far from the store, and different households are far away from each other, it usually takes hours to drive on the grassland to deliver what they have bought. Some local farmers and herdsmen live 700 kilometers away from where we are."

Suolang says they have reported the problem to the local government, which is expected to solve it by discussing with those shops.

Zhang Wan, CRI news, Lahsa, Tibet.