Several ministry-level departments, including those responsible for education, human resources and social security and poverty alleviation, responded recently to issues of public concern.

Policies to boost hometown startups

China will provide greater policy support for migrant workers, college graduates and veterans to start up businesses in their hometowns to boost employment, a guideline published on Thursday said.

The guideline, jointly issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said the move is an important measure to realize the goal of rural vitalization and win the battle against poverty.

According to the guideline, eligible entrepreneurs will enjoy preferential policies in terms of tax and fees cuts and the arrangement of workplaces. They will also receive a one-time subsidy for their startup and a guaranteed loan with low interest rates.

For those unable to start businesses, local authorities should provide employment services and assistance, and social relief according to relevant regulations, the guideline said.

Ministry completes review of online trainers

China has finished scrutinizing 718 online businesses providing after-school training programs amid intensifying efforts to regulate the private education market, the Ministry of Education said on Wednesday.

Online training providers were asked to rectify their problems spotted in scrutiny of their operations, the MOE said.

The ministry, in joint efforts with five other central authorities, launched a campaign in July to check the operations, course content and teacher qualifications of online training businesses.

By the end of last year, education authorities had finished scrutiny of 3,463 courses and 115,622 teachers of the 718 online training course providers, the ministry said.

Provincial education authorities will release a blacklist of unqualified or poorly-run online training providers and suspend or shut down their services.

Blacklist of wage defaulters released

The fourth blacklist of 100 organizations and people who default on rural migrant workers' wages was released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Jan 7.

Wang Cheng, director of labor and social security inspection, said at a news conference in Beijing that punishments meted out by different departments had acted as strong deterrents to defaulting on wages.

The punishments of blacklisted organizations and individuals cover areas such as government financial support and procurement, production permission, market access and tax preferences.

The blacklisting takes into account two situations－the amount of deductions or unlawful default on rural migrant workers' wages that amount to a criminal conviction, and a default on wages that could cause mass disturbance and seriously affect society.

Heritage workshops aim for job creation

China will support the establishment of intangible cultural heritage workshops in the country's impoverished counties to create jobs and alleviate poverty, according to a notice published on Wednesday.

The notice, jointly issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, said the workshops will rely on one or several intangible cultural heritage programs that engage a large number of employees and enjoy great market potential.

Local authorities should take measures to properly manage the workshops, including promoting employment, providing training on traditional craftsmanship, developing quality products and increasing sales channels, it said.

Over the past year, the campaign of targeted poverty alleviation through promotion of intangible cultural heritage has yielded results nationwide.

Statistics showed that 2,310 such workshops have been set up across the country, including 393 in national-level poverty-stricken counties. The workshops have helped create 463,800 jobs and lifted 200,000 households out of poverty.

Xinhua contributed to the story.