[The Epoch Times, April 24, 2024](Epoch Times reporters Ning Haizhong and Luo Ya interviewed and reported) Town and village officials in Kailu County, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, have prevented farmers from cultivating in the fields, and they have to pay money for farming. The official also said: “I will collect money when my superiors ask me to do so.” After the incident was exposed, the authorities dealt with the relevant officials. Experts believe that behind this incident is the lack of rule of law in the CCP and the financial difficulties of local governments, which has led to frequent chaos at the grassroots level.
Farmers in Inner Mongolia are blocked from farming, and officials sit on the ground to make money and act arrogantly
On April 22, according to the official media “China Agriculture, Rural Affairs and Rural Affairs Release”, some farmers in Kailu County, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region were doing spring plowing, but town and village officials prevented them from going to the fields. And you have to pay upfront for farming.
The explanation given by local officials was that if the farmer changed the contracted wasteland into “irrigated land”, he would have to pay extra “watered land money”.
It is reported that local farmers recently received a reminder notice, which stated that they would pay an additional RMB 200 per mu of land per year. If payment is not made within the time limit, the original contract will be terminated and the land will be taken back by the village committee and re-contracted.
A farmer in the county said that according to this payment standard, he would have to pay millions of yuan every year. He said that currently they are spending their money on seeds, fertilizers and other farming materials. “We really can’t afford to pay one million at a time.”
Local farmers also said that they had paid the contract fees two years ago and there was no reason for the charges this time. According to the contract contract provided by the farmer, the land contract period is 30 years, starting on March 20, 2004. The contracting fees were paid in batches and have been fully settled in 2022.
The video in the report showed that the deputy director of the Shuangsheng Village Committee of Jianhua Town, Kailu County, stopped a grower and said: “What can I do if I am here? I will collect money if my superiors ask me to do so.”
A village cadre shouted at the farmers: “If I don’t find 200 people to come tomorrow (to deal with you), I will take your surname!”
Officials in the town stopped people from plowing their fields by forcefully impounding their cars. The police issued a verbal summons to the driver of the farm machine and violently pushed him into a police car. The scene was chaotic. Ji Yunhao, deputy secretary of the town party committee and political and legal committee member, said: “Don’t look for me, I don’t understand the law!”
After the above-mentioned chaos was exposed, the official media of Kailu County stated on the 22nd that Kailu County notified the matter that “farmers must pay first for farming” that day, claiming that it would conduct an investigation.
However, local village officials and the town government shirk responsibility from each other. The village secretary responded that this policy was issued by the town government, and farmers must pay fees, otherwise the contract will be terminated. However, the mayor of the town denied the matter, claiming that it was a “village matter” and “the town has no control over it.”
On April 23, Yang Hua, Party Secretary of Shuangsheng Village, Jianhua Town, Kailu County, responded that farmers pay money first for farming, and “the money is collected by the county.” He also said that because village cadres have “little education,” they “must have loopholes in their words.”
On the 23rd, Kailu County reported again that the paid use of newly added cultivated land in Shuangsheng Village is one of the disposal methods adopted by Kailu County in the pilot work of efficient utilization of newly added cultivated land. That is, the village collective charges paid use of newly added cultivated land. fee. The deputy secretary of the town’s party committee was subsequently removed from office and given a warning within the party; the village’s party branch secretary and deputy director of the village committee were each given serious warnings within the party. But netizens questioned that they were just scapegoats.
Commentary: The CCP’s lawlessness and financial difficulties in local areas reflect the crisis of the regime
Mainland lawyer Yang Sheng told The Epoch Times on April 24 that the video about this incident has been very popular in China recently. Perhaps because it touched a relatively low level, the authorities did not feel it was too sensitive and did not block it.
He believes that these lands are actually contracted by ordinary people for decades, and the government does not want to abide by the contracts. “The local grassroots government wants to raise fees and take advantage of the opportunity to make money. This is obviously illegal and unreasonable.”
Yang Sheng believes that local officials may be doing this because of financial constraints and are trying every means to squeeze the people and make up for the lack of fiscal expenditure. “This is in line with the rogue appearance of Communist Party officials. (They) have always been arrogant towards ordinary people. The CCP has no rule of law. These officials do not have protection and orders from above, so they do not dare to be so arrogant.”
David Huang, an economist living in the United States, told The Epoch Times on the 24th that due to local financial difficulties, the local area has added a so-called water resource occupation fee. It is estimated that this new fee has not been documented by the central government and is carried out by local governments on their own. tax revenue.
“We see that (China’s) non-tax revenue has accounted for almost 20% of the fiscal year this year, and the new non-tax revenue has reached a record high. These should be a type of non-tax revenue, and they also reflect the local government’s efforts to make up for the loss. If there is a gap in fiscal revenue, some additional expenses will be incurred.”
David Huang said that in the final analysis, it is the financial difficulties of local governments, and the first reason for the difficulties is that local governments spent extravagantly in the past when fiscal revenue was relatively loose. When revenue decreases, the overburden of capital becomes apparent, so local governments are trying to find ways to increase revenue.
Lai Rongwei, CEO of the Taiwan Inspirational Association and adjunct assistant professor at the university, told The Epoch Times that in fact, the “agriculture, rural areas and farmers” issues have always been the CCP’s biggest problem in urban and rural construction. Almost every year, the No. 1 document talks about it. The so-called “three rural” issues mean that “farmers are really suffering, rural areas are really poor, and agriculture is really dangerous.”
He believes that Xi Jinping has no way to solve the “three rural” issues. Now China’s overall economy is going downhill. The debts in rural areas have become very serious. There is no money to allocate to grassroots political power. However, rural cadres have to do more and more things. more.
“Local village officials are arrogant. The first is that they have no money. The second is that they have too many things to do. Then they have to climb up and achieve some performance, so they are treated very rudely. Farmers. This also highlights that farmers are being exploited and sacrificed.”
Lai Rongwei said that in the future, the voice of dissatisfaction among Chinese farmers will become louder and louder, and they will eventually overthrow the CCP regime.
Editor in charge: Gao Jing#
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Tags: Analysis farmers Mongolia forced pay upfront farming government financial crisis Kailu County Mongolia collect money superiors Grassroots political power
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