The Chinese government has ruled out the possibility of land
privatization, Chen Xiwen, director of the central leading group on
rural work, said on Tuesday.
Chen said land ownership was determined by China's constitution,
instead of central government policy.
He announced the furthering of land-utilization reform to
control illegal sales of farm land and to protect farmers'
interests.
China is facing thorny problems in terms of rural land rights
issues. Without secure land rights, farmers are increasingly being
evicted from their lands to make way for roads, factories and
residential areas.
Premier Wen Jiabao warned early last year that illegal
uncompensated seizures of land without resettlement were a key
source of instability in rural areas.
"It is sparking mass incidents in the countryside," said Wen.
"We absolutely cannot commit a historic error regarding land
problems."
The government issued a notice last year on strengthening land
control, tightening controls over the transformation of farm lands
into urban construction uses.
The threshold for transforming farm land into construction use
was raised, and the illegal renting of farm land for non-farming
uses like urban construction was banned.
(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2007)