国内英语新闻:More needy people receive help from China's social security network

BEIJING, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- More people enduring poor living conditions have been covered by China's social security system, according to the country's Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Various figures disclosed during a national working conference held Monday by the Ministry in Beijing showed that as of November, about 75 million people had been provided with minimum living allowances, an increase of 5.4 percent from the same period of last year.

In terms of medical services, 8.58 billion yuan (about 1.3 billion U.S. dollar) were spent in to aid nearly 60 million people in need in the first nine months of the year, up 28 percent than the same period last year.

In addition, over one million vagrants and beggars with no means of support in cities had been receiving help as of December 2010.

Also, the Ministry has set up aid centers for homeless juveniles in 40 counties and cities with 30 million yuan of the proceeds from the welfare lottery.