Asia Times has published an investigation into land misappropriation, which is quickly contributing to the destruction of arable land while robbing farmers of their crops.
According to the article: “Over the past seven years, China has lost 66,670 square kilometers in arable land, according to the Ministry of Land Resources, an estimate that many experts consider grotesquely below the actual figure and not reflecting desertification, poor management and unbridled illegal land grabs. While China is a vast country, the amount of arable land for a population of 1.3 billion, more than 800 million of them farmers, is relatively small and intensely cultivated. The situation is getting worse; China is now planning to lease cropland from Vietnam to help feed the Chinese people. ”
The author interviews peasants in Taizhou, Jiangsu Province, the birth place of Hu Jintao, where, “Vast amounts of land are still being stolen from the people every day.”
