Chinese farmers will no longer risk poverty when they face illness.

　　A new rural medical cooperative system is under construction across the country.

　　Under the system, each farmer pays 10 yuan to a medical fund, as does the state and local government.

　　When a farmer receives medical treatment, he will have a proportion of the medical expenses refunded.

　　Jiang Zhongpu, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, says this is a significant project.

　　He says, in the past, rural residents faced financial ruin if they got sick.

　　Statistics from the Ministry of Health show half of the 900 million rural residents cannot afford medical treatment for financial reasons.

　　In 2003, the Chinese government initiated the program to build a rural medical cooperative system in eight years.