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Land issue stumbling block to development

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Exactly 30 years ago, several dozen famished farmers in Xiaogang village in Anhui province rose against the commune and took over farmland and divided it among themselves to boost production.

The controversial move, which was first attacked as a return to capitalism, was quickly endorsed by Deng Xiaoping . It not only triggered a wave of revolutionary changes which led to the current system of 30-year leases on land plots by farmers but also marked the beginning of mainland's historic process of opening up and reforms.

As the central government makes elaborate celebrations to mark the 30th anniversary of its reform and open-door policies later this year, the farmers have stood up again. This time they are demanding full privatisation of land.

Late last year, a small group of farmers in Fujin , Heilongjiang province , made a bold declaration, voting and dividing farmland among themselves. Thanks to the internet, their action was supported by farmers in Shaanxi , Jiangsu , and Tianjin .

Reminiscent of the controversy 30 years ago, the officials' initial reactions were negative. They responded by cracking down and last week sentencing farm leader Yu Changwu in Fujin to two years in a labour camp without a trial.

And like the initial stage of the Xiaogang revolution, the majority opinion on the mainland has been that the Heilongjiang farmers' bold attempt was doomed to fail.

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