Greetings from Yunnan to our respected leaders，and greetings to all participants.I wish to thank all those who have organized this conference for their efforts and strong success.I especially thank Mr.Fan Baojun，the Chairman of the Preparatory Committee of the Forum for inviting me to participate in this important occasion，and thank Mr.Guo Jingming of YINGOS for many years of assistance and cooperation in poverty alleviation work.

During the past 20 years，China has brought more people out of poverty than any nation in the history of the world.This unbroken trend clearly demonstrates the Chinese government’s resolve to respond to the needs of the people.Present leadership and policies will expand the development even further.As China moves forward in taking her place as one of the world’s great nations，one of the necessary initiatives will be to continue responding in broad ways to the needs of the poor and the helpless.

The role of the government in caring for the poor is an enormous task.In Yunnan，the Poverty Alleviation Office，YINGOS，The Disabled Federation，The Public Health Bureau，and many other governmental agencies are daily expending monumental amounts of time，energy，and money towards helping the poor.The role of NGO’s in partnering with the government to accomplish this task is small in comparison，but still important.

I believe，however，that the necessary next step in order to respond effectively in the battle against poverty is to aggressively involve a new resource.A new focus is needed.We must expend greater energy to mobilize China’s greatest resource——the caring hearts of the Chinese people.

China’s people，due to the hard work of the government to establish a high standard of living and better education，are prepared for the task.Millions are ready to stand up and step forward in serving their country，supplying the needs of the poor in and around their communities.We must actively encourage，equip，and empower those who are willing to help.We must seek out，equip，and mobilize those in each community or village whose hearts are willing to care for the poor.We must encourage others to follow their example.

Consider one example of the love of the Chinese people for the less fortunate.We have been working together with YINGOS and the Public Health Department in Xishuangbanna to help the leprosy-affected transform their situation.Two years ago，when our workers arrived to begin caring for the people in one leprosy-affected village in Xishuangbanna，one young man stood out.He was hungry to help.He was anxious to learn.He was willing to care for the needs of the others in his community.We encouraged his desire to love his neighbors.We educated him about leprosy.We taught him how to care for the wounds of those around him.We gave the necessary supplies for the task.We taught him how to teach the villagers about preventive health measures.We equipped him to give basic education to the children.

Today，this village has been largely transformed.Cooperation between the government and an NGO was the beginning.We worked together to encourage，equip，and empower a volunteer.His love and compassion spread to others in the community.Most of the work of transformation was accomplished by the efforts of these volunteers within the community.

If one takes the time to look around，one finds that today’s China is filled with such stories.Loving hearts and willing hands are abundant.As the government and NGO’s have encouraged，equipped，and empowered such men and women to effect the necessary transformation，the poor are being brought out of their bondage to difficult situations.Mobilizing such human resources is the key to the victory.

What must be the focus of this new mobilization？We must devote our energy to equipping，empowering，and encouraging the hundreds of millions of good-hearted Chinese to express their love to others by：

1.Caring directly for the poor and needy.

2.Sharing their knowledge，skills，labor，and financial resources with those who need them.

To put it simply，we must mobilize the love of the people for those who suffer or are enslaved by poverty.

What are the various forms in which such transformational processes can be pursued？