国内英语资讯:China Focus: Chinese welcome prosperity with New Year traditions, anti-poverty war_时事

国内英语资讯:China Focus: Chinese welcome prosperity with New Year traditions, anti-poverty war

BEIJING, Feb. 20 -- Tuesday marks the fifth day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, when people traditionally set off fire crackers, eat dumplings and clean their homes for good fortune.

New year taboos, which ban people from cooking with uncooked rice, sewing, cleaning and doing business during the first days of the Spring Festival, are removed on the fifth day.

However, the most important tradition for the day is sending off the God of Poverty and inviting the God of Wealth, who Chinese believe was born on this day.

According to tradition, setting off firecrackers and dumping trash drives away bad luck and poverty, while opening doors and windows and preparing banquets pleases the God of Wealth.

Long-standing as they are, these traditions touch upon reality for Chinese people this year, as the country is determined to win the battle against poverty, improve people's lives and build a great modern socialist country.

Over the last five years, decisive progress has been made in the fight against poverty: more than 60 million people have been lifted out of poverty, and the country's poverty rate has dropped from 10.2 percent to less than 4 percent.

The report at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has pledged to ensure that by the year 2020, all rural residents living below the current poverty line will be lifted out of poverty, and poverty will be eliminated in all poor counties and regions.