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40 million Chinese farmers lose their land to urbanization
Beijing (AFP) Jul 24, 2006 Forty million farmers have lost their land in China over the past decade due to urbanization, with another 15 million to suffer a similar fate over the next five years, a government report said. "Over the last 10 years, urbanization in our country has taken place at a fast pace with the lands of more than 40 million farmers requisitioned," according to a Ministry of Labor and Social Security report posted on a government website. "In the next five years, we expect the lands of three million farmers to be requisitioned annually." China's rural population was 745 million at the end of last year, with 562 million people living in urban areas, according to previously released National Bureau of Statistics figures. But China is going through an unprecedented urbanization process with up to 300 million people expected to move into its cities over the next 20 years, government officials said earlier this year. The number of officially zoned cities is expected to increase to 1,000 by 2015 from just under 700 currently. The government is trying to help the farmers by stepping up efforts to retrain them for urban living in expectations of massive unemployment, a labor ministry official said in the report, which was released on Friday. The government also intends to strengthen regulations and inspections on the requisitioning of land by local authorities and business people, the official said. Across China, farmland is often seized by corrupt local government officials and industrialists without adequate compensation and then converted to either industrial or residential use at great profit. The government reported last month that the area of land seized illegally for development nationwide had jumped 20 percent in the first five months of this year. The Ministry of Land and Resources recorded 25,253 illegal land seizure cases in the first five months, involving 12,241 hectares (30,237 acres) of land, state press reports said. The number of cases was roughly equal to the same period of last year but the area had risen 20 percent, the report quoted senior ministry official Zhang Xinbao as saying. "Illegal seizure of land has become more rampant in some places," he was quoted as saying. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links China News from SinoDaily.com
Thailand seeks US, China support for UN top job
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) Jul 24, 2006 Thailand's candidate for the UN's top job will seek the support of the United States, China and its Southeast Asian neighbours at a regional meeting here this week, officials said Monday. |
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