With justified pride, a Dec. 17 editorial in China’s Global Times celebrated that, in 2020, China had both eliminated absolute poverty and sent a successful mission to the Moon and back.
“The Chang’e-5 capsule carrying rocks and soil from the Moon landed safely on Earth early on Thursday [Dec. 17]. This mirrors China’s comprehensive technological progress. Of course, it is not the only pride for China’s 2020. In November, the last few impoverished counties, all in southwest China’s Guizhou Province, have eliminated absolute poverty, a decisive improvement of China’s goal to achieve a moderately prosperous society in all respects….
“With a limited budget, China has multiple tasks at the same time — it has to encourage developing high-tech abilities, expand room and provide driving forces for social advancement, at the same time strive to improve people’s livelihood, and input social fairness into the top design of national strategies.”
