From the Australian:
In a move aimed at regaining the trust of China’s restless 800 million farmers, the Government is to extend nationwide a pilot scheme in wealthy Guangdong province whereby farmers receive a share of the profits from rural land given to developers for factories or housing.
Chen Xiwen, director of the State Council’s rural affairs office, said yesterday that there was a “dramatic” decline last year from China’s 80,000 protests and demonstrations in 2005, thanks in part to the abolition of the centuries-old tax on farm output.But Mr Chen said many rural issues remained unaddressed. Almost 80 per cent of the petitions received by the Government every year – there were about 13 million petitions in 2005 – still concern the grabbing of land by local officials, whom he blamed for being “blind, unmoved” by people’s problems.[Full Text]
