Wen backs farmers' land rights
Source: Xinhua/Shanghai Daily |
February 6, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
China has failed to give farmers adequate protection from arbitrary seizures of land, Premier Wen Jiabao said at the weekend as he acknowledged that the resulting discontent was fanning protests.
Wen was speaking during a visit to southern China's Guangdong Province, where protests by residents in Wukan Village late last year focused attention on widespread anger over the confiscation of farmland.
Wen said he understood why villagers were often angry about land losses, and vowed to give real bite to protections that give farmers a collective say in land development.
"What is the widespread problem now? It's the arbitrary seizure of farmers' fields, and the farmers have complaints about this, and it's even sparking mass incidents," Wen said on Saturday.
Wen called for more efforts to ensure farmers' rights over the land they cultivate.
Mass disturbances
Unauthorized expropriation of farmland has been a common problem, causing many complaints and even mass disturbances, said Wen.
Farmers in China do not directly own their fields. Instead, most rural land is owned collectively by a village, with farmers allocated leases that can last for decades. Villagers can collectively decide whether to apply to sell off or develop land.
Wen also highlighted the need to ensure farmers' voting rights and the direct election of village-level leadership.
There should be a strict legal system and regulations for the election, as well as election procedures that are open, fair and transparent, he said.
He said local affairs should be decided by local people and vowed to make village committee elections an authentic channel for public opinion.
Wukan villagers held a 10-day protest over confiscated land and the death of a protest organiser.
Popularly elected
They won concessions from the provincial government, which promised to correct land abuses and establish a popularly elected village committee.
Last Wednesday, residents of Wukan held an election as the first step in the establishment of a new village committee.
"We must certainly protect the voting rights of farmers, and be unwavering in properly carrying out village self-governance and direct election of village committees," Wen told villagers in Guangdong.
Wen also called for better planning for rural construction and curbing environmental pollution in the countryside.
Wen pledged to unwaveringly push forward opening-up and reform in the face of current challenges and difficulties.
"Opening-up and reform should be implemented unswervingly, or there will only be a dead end," said Wen, citing former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who made a famous speech during his tour of south China 20 years ago.
Wen was speaking during a visit to southern China's Guangdong Province, where protests by residents in Wukan Village late last year focused attention on widespread anger over the confiscation of farmland.
Wen said he understood why villagers were often angry about land losses, and vowed to give real bite to protections that give farmers a collective say in land development.
"What is the widespread problem now? It's the arbitrary seizure of farmers' fields, and the farmers have complaints about this, and it's even sparking mass incidents," Wen said on Saturday.
Wen called for more efforts to ensure farmers' rights over the land they cultivate.
Mass disturbances
Unauthorized expropriation of farmland has been a common problem, causing many complaints and even mass disturbances, said Wen.
Farmers in China do not directly own their fields. Instead, most rural land is owned collectively by a village, with farmers allocated leases that can last for decades. Villagers can collectively decide whether to apply to sell off or develop land.
Wen also highlighted the need to ensure farmers' voting rights and the direct election of village-level leadership.
There should be a strict legal system and regulations for the election, as well as election procedures that are open, fair and transparent, he said.
He said local affairs should be decided by local people and vowed to make village committee elections an authentic channel for public opinion.
Wukan villagers held a 10-day protest over confiscated land and the death of a protest organiser.
Popularly elected
They won concessions from the provincial government, which promised to correct land abuses and establish a popularly elected village committee.
Last Wednesday, residents of Wukan held an election as the first step in the establishment of a new village committee.
"We must certainly protect the voting rights of farmers, and be unwavering in properly carrying out village self-governance and direct election of village committees," Wen told villagers in Guangdong.
Wen also called for better planning for rural construction and curbing environmental pollution in the countryside.
Wen pledged to unwaveringly push forward opening-up and reform in the face of current challenges and difficulties.
"Opening-up and reform should be implemented unswervingly, or there will only be a dead end," said Wen, citing former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who made a famous speech during his tour of south China 20 years ago.
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