By Xinhua
Beijing : China has adopted a new policy since 2007 to pay subsidies to participants of nuclear tests, according to a senior Chinese minister.
Li Xueju, minister of civil affairs, became the first government official when he talked about nuclear test participants receiving subsidies during a visit to a unit of the Chinese People’s Armed Polices (PAP) Friday.
According to Li, the government paid a total of $2.07 billion (15.12 billion yuan), an increase of 34.8 percent year-on-year, to more than 8 million former service people and families of martyrs who died in wars or for public interests.
The minister said that more than 8 million recipients included some military personnel and civilians who participated in nuclear test. But he did not specify the number of nuclear test participants receiving the subsidies and how much for each of them last year.
China carried out its first nuclear test Oct 16, 1964 by exploding an A-bomb, and on July 29, 1996, the government announced that China would stop nuclear tests temporarily as a practical action to push forward the international nuclear disarmament.
China signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of the United Nations Sep 24, 1996.
The minister, who visited the PAP unit before the upcoming Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, also said that last year the government allocated more than $13.7 million (1 billion yuan) as subsidies for ex-soldiers who set up their businesses or received professional training, as well as handicapped conscripts who wanted to buy a residence.