China to raise farmers' land compensation
By Feng Jianmin |
December 25, 2012, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
China is considering raising compensation for farmers whose collectively owned land is taken from them - a move aimed at cutting the number of land disputes that threaten the social stability of a country with a rural population exceeding 656 million.
A draft amendment to the Land Administration Law will remove the current ceiling for calculating compensation which has been judged to be too low and also ensure money is paid out before land is expropriated.
Currently, the ceiling is 30 times the land's average annual output in the three years before it is taken.
Chinese farmers do not own their fields. Instead, rural land is owned collectively by a village, and farmers get leases that last for decades.
The compensation ceiling, set in 2004, is not in accordance with today's economic situation and many localities have seen compensation standards exceed it, says the draft submitted to the National People's Congress for its first reading yesterday.
It also proposes a rule that no land can be taken without first settling on compensation, as well as increased compensation to cover farmers' rural residences, relocation allowances and social security fees.
"Illegal expropriation of rural land frequently occured in some regions. It has become a prominent problem endangering social stability," Song Dahan, head of the State Council's Legislative Affairs Office, said when submitting the draft yesterday, Xinhua news agency said.
Song said current legal compensation methods had deficiencies including "low compensation standard, rigid regulations and a lack of guarantee for the farmers' long-term livelihood and social security."
He said there were loopholes in procedures and insufficient compensation.
"The standards are too low and rigid, and cannot sustain the long-term well-being of farmers."
The draft amendment, which focuses on Article 47, proposes to give "fair compensation" to farmers to "ensure their living standards improve and their long-term livelihood is guaranteed" after their land is taken.
"China is still at the stage when a rural land market has yet to be formed," Song was quoted.
"Fair compensation" means the standard should be set by taking more factors into consideration such as location, supply and demand, level of economic and social development, and social security fees instead of only taking into account the annual output of the land before it is expropriated, Song said.
"The draft amendment sets down the principle of 'compensation and relocation first, expropriation later'," Song said.
Farmers whose land is expropriated and who then find it hard to find a new job will be given training, employment guidance and other help in looking for work, he said.
Large-scale rallies
Song said land expropriation reforms aim to balance urbanization and farmland protection, better protect legitimate rights or farmers and restrict government taking land from farmers.
Farmers' protests over land seizures have occurred across the country in recent years, prompting calls for better protection of property rights.
Last year, Wukan, a village in south China's Guangdong Province, made international headlines when its residents staged three waves of large-scale rallies in four months to protest at government officials' illegal land grabs and violations of finance rules.
Peace was later restored after the government promised to investigate and villagers were allowed to choose their own representatives.
Earlier this month, a house that had stood in the middle of a new road for more than a year was finally demolished in east China's Zhejiang Province, ending a long dispute over compensation. The bizarre sight in Zhejiang's Wenling City also made headlines worldwide after photographs were posted online.
A draft amendment to the Land Administration Law will remove the current ceiling for calculating compensation which has been judged to be too low and also ensure money is paid out before land is expropriated.
Currently, the ceiling is 30 times the land's average annual output in the three years before it is taken.
Chinese farmers do not own their fields. Instead, rural land is owned collectively by a village, and farmers get leases that last for decades.
The compensation ceiling, set in 2004, is not in accordance with today's economic situation and many localities have seen compensation standards exceed it, says the draft submitted to the National People's Congress for its first reading yesterday.
It also proposes a rule that no land can be taken without first settling on compensation, as well as increased compensation to cover farmers' rural residences, relocation allowances and social security fees.
"Illegal expropriation of rural land frequently occured in some regions. It has become a prominent problem endangering social stability," Song Dahan, head of the State Council's Legislative Affairs Office, said when submitting the draft yesterday, Xinhua news agency said.
Song said current legal compensation methods had deficiencies including "low compensation standard, rigid regulations and a lack of guarantee for the farmers' long-term livelihood and social security."
He said there were loopholes in procedures and insufficient compensation.
"The standards are too low and rigid, and cannot sustain the long-term well-being of farmers."
The draft amendment, which focuses on Article 47, proposes to give "fair compensation" to farmers to "ensure their living standards improve and their long-term livelihood is guaranteed" after their land is taken.
"China is still at the stage when a rural land market has yet to be formed," Song was quoted.
"Fair compensation" means the standard should be set by taking more factors into consideration such as location, supply and demand, level of economic and social development, and social security fees instead of only taking into account the annual output of the land before it is expropriated, Song said.
"The draft amendment sets down the principle of 'compensation and relocation first, expropriation later'," Song said.
Farmers whose land is expropriated and who then find it hard to find a new job will be given training, employment guidance and other help in looking for work, he said.
Large-scale rallies
Song said land expropriation reforms aim to balance urbanization and farmland protection, better protect legitimate rights or farmers and restrict government taking land from farmers.
Farmers' protests over land seizures have occurred across the country in recent years, prompting calls for better protection of property rights.
Last year, Wukan, a village in south China's Guangdong Province, made international headlines when its residents staged three waves of large-scale rallies in four months to protest at government officials' illegal land grabs and violations of finance rules.
Peace was later restored after the government promised to investigate and villagers were allowed to choose their own representatives.
Earlier this month, a house that had stood in the middle of a new road for more than a year was finally demolished in east China's Zhejiang Province, ending a long dispute over compensation. The bizarre sight in Zhejiang's Wenling City also made headlines worldwide after photographs were posted online.
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