I've written earlier this year about the problems in China with regards to peasants being cheated out of their land so that village officials can make money from selling the farmland for industrial development. In 2004 alone there were 74,000 uprisings by the peasants in protest over this practice. And you also have a situation in which the benefits of China's strong economy are not seen by the rural populace.
Well, it looks like the government is starting to address the problem with their 'new socialist countryside" initiative. They will now focus, so they say, on balancing what has been a very uneven economic development. They will institute such programs for farmers as free education, increased subsidies, public works investment and medical care. But, although they acknowledge the existence of the land problem, there will be no changes made there yet.
Half a loaf is better than none.
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