Expel from village register

Author: Jiang Xifen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: When this work was about to be published, it was pleasing to hear that Premier Wen Jiabao made a solemn commitment in the "Government Work Report" of the third session of the 10th National People's Congress, stating that agricultural taxes would be completely abolished within the next three years. This marked the end of the centuries-old imperial taxes that Chinese farmers had paid. At the same time, it was announced that the new "Petition Regulations" had been officially implemented since May 1st of this year. These measures fully reflect the high importance our Party and government place on the "Three Rural" issues, embodying the fundamental purpose of our Party to serve the people wholeheartedly. The burden of farmers and the issue of public petitions are timeless topics and have long been two major social hot issues widely concerned by the public. In recent years, the issue of farmers' burdens has become a significant obstacle to rural economic development and has also affected the relationship between cadres and the masses, as well as social stability. To genuinely alleviate the burden on farmers, the Party Central Committee and the State Council have taken a series of important measures and issued the "Decision on Effectively Alleviating Farmers' Burdens" in December 1996, putting forward clear requirements on how to reduce farmers' burdens. However, some local grassroots organizations, driven by interests, have ignored the repeated directives of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, acting arbitrarily, exaggerating reports, inventing names, and arbitrarily inflating farmers' income while raising collection standards for levies. They have staged a series of shocking farces of "superiors pressuring subordinates, layer upon layer increasing burdens; subordinates deceiving superiors, layer upon layer distorting facts." As a result, farmers who could no longer bear the heavy burden have had no choice but to take up the law to defend their rights. To seek justice, they had to embark on the long and arduous path of petitioning. Meanwhile, some local organizations, in the name of maintaining their so-called dignity and achievements, have ignored their suffering and calls for help, pursuing them relentlessly and going to great lengths to prevent them from petitioning. In some villages, the two committees even made absurd and laughably ridiculous decisions to expel villagers from their village status due to petitioning.
This book is set in some rural areas in northern China in the mid-1990s and uses concise yet biting language to recreate the real situation of excessive burdens on farmers in some rural areas of China at that time, as well as the scenes of farmers petitioning and being relentlessly pursued and blocked. The book depicts the difficult experiences of rural children who had to give up their dreams of higher education due to poverty; the anxiety of farmers facing severe droughts, feeling as if their hearts were boiling; the hardships brought to farmers by the heavy burden; the repeated petitions by villagers; and the cold and arrogant attitude of some grassroots cadres toward petitioning farmers, all of which are described in a heart-wrenching and thought-provoking manner.
Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. Looking back at the past and forward to the future, we sincerely hope that this work can provide inspiration, reminding us to firmly remember the unforgettable history and pay more attention to the "Three Rural" issues and the suffering of the people. Under the correct leadership of the Party Central Committee led by Hu Jintao, we should earnestly implement the Scientific Outlook on Development and build a harmonious socialist society to create a brighter future.