Frank Ching comments on the new property law:
Left-leaning intellectuals and scholars opposed the legislation on ideological grounds, while others opposed it for fear that ill-gotten gains would henceforth be protected. In the 25 years that China has been moving from a planned to a market economy, many state assets have been transformed into private ones through dubious means…
The law is also meant to better protect farmers and their land because, in many localities, officials have made lucrative deals with developers, seizing agricultural land for the construction of luxury housing or shopping malls. The government acknowledges 90,000 cases of illegal land seizures last year. [Full text]
