China on Sunday released a guideline on greater protection for property rights to enhance social confidence and promote social justice.
The guideline, released by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, states that China will study the legal arrangements for current 70-year land warrants, which experts said conveys the message that people need not worry about their property being seized by the government after its use rights expire, Xinhua reported.
Moreover, the guideline also vows to complete the legal system for land and house expropriation, detailing the legal rights and procedures during requisition and clarifying the scope, type and standard of compensation.
Data from the People's Procuratorate in Sichuan Province show that 108 people have been punished in the first half of the year for their involvement in rural land development. Jia Jinglong, a villager from Hebei Province, was executed for murdering a local official out of revenge after his home was forcibly demolished, triggering public outrage toward home demolitions and relocations.
The guideline also states it would deepen rural land reform, stressing public ownership of land while protecting the farmers' financial rights. It pledges to implement the confirmation of rural land meant for productive use, homesteads, housing and collectively owned construction land.
