Chinese government warns officials to stop evicting farmers

Click here for main article Summary: The Chinese State Council issued warning to local officials to stop evicting farmer from there land and demolishing their homes. The evicting is being done as part of a rural reform program intended to move farmers into new residential buildings, while their old homes were demolished so the farmland can be expanded. However, the program also allows a portion of the farmer's land to be taken for urban construction. Local officials have taken advantage of this, evicting farmers and converting much of their land for construction. Farmer in 20 provinces have been forcibly removed from their land and some have even beaten up after they refused to leave their land. Local officials then take much of the land and sell to land developers inorder to increase revenue and raise local GDP. Although selling any land is supposed to require government approval, this has not happened in practice. Authorities are moving to convict corrupt officials and correct any misgivings against farmers. Significance: These incidents demonstrates both the struggle China has been going through to keep rural provinces happy while still expanding business and prosperity and the struggle to control the country's vast bureaucracy. China's work to end corruption is important to this increasingly prosperous country. Rural farmers, who are undoubtly the countries main underclass being victimized by corrupt officials is the worst case scenario for a country with deep division between rural and urban. It remains to be seen whether or not China will be able to tame its bureaucracy and please rural populace.