To What Extent Has the Political Legitimacy of the CCP Been Affected by the Negative Consequences of Its Rural Policies

To To what extent has the political legitimacy of the CCP been aected by the negative consequences of its rural policies? Many Many of China’s China’s rural rural and socioe socioecon conomi omic c polici policies! es! which which support support rapid rapid urbani"ation and industriali"ation that contributed to the high growth! were however! at the expense of the ruralagrarian community# $s of %&&'! about (&'&million farmers lost their lands to urbani"ation and industriali"ation! with little or no compensation# The policies adopted by the CCP since )*+, hav hav egiv egiven en rise rise to negat negativ ive e cons conseq eque uenc nces es su such ch as dwin dwindl dlin ing g peas peasant ant income! increasing urbanrural inequalities and resultant growing discontent# The spi-es in rural protests up to %&&.! create social instability that challenges the political legitimacy of the CCP# The CCP which had itself risen to power based on the twin pillar of support from the wor-ers and peasants and on the promise of an egalitarian society! were undoubtedly aware of the /political time bomb0 that the rural discontent would constitute# This essay seesee-s s to argu argue e that that the the poli politi tica call legi legiti tima macy cy of the the CCP CCP gove govern rnme ment nt is aected! but not severely threatened! by the negative consequences of its rural policies# 1hile sporadic spi-es in peasant protests due to the negative conseq consequen uences ces of China’s China’s rural rural polici policies es chall challeng enged ed in the CCP’s CCP’s politi political cal ideology and legitimacy! they do not threaten its leadership as they were uncoordinated and were not targeted at see-ing political changes# $t the same time! the CCP was able! through authoritative e2ciency3 to manage the the deli delica cate te bala balanc nce e betw betwee een n grow growin ing g the the econ econom omy y and manag managin ing g the the growing growing rural discontent discontent through concerted concerted eort eort at constant constant review review and revision of the rural policies to bring about social and economic development in the rural regions# 1ith a strong economy! the CCP’s political leadership loo-s secure# 4ocal misgovernance as a result of agrarian decentrali"ation led to outright exploitative of many peasants who in turn viewed the CCP government as exploitative# 5efore %&&.! development in the rural community was directly impac impacted ted by a twotwo-ey ey polici policies! es! the privat privati" i"ati ation on and grain grain procu procure reme ment nt policies# The early grain procurement policies suppressed grain prices! the main form of rural productivity! in order to allow cities to sustain low costs of living# This price suppression was made possible by the mandatory grain contr ontrac actts bet between ween farm armers and and the the gove goverrnme nment# nt# The The sy syst stem em was decentrali"ed as each province was given the responsibility of ensuring its own food supply# supply# 4ac- of proper governance and corrupt by local o2cials in a decent decentral rali" i"ed ed system system resulte esulted d in high high taxati taxation on of the farmer farmers s and illic illicit it acquisition of agrarian land for urban and industrial development# $ccording to a study by the 67 8evelopment Program! more than '& million farmers have have been been dis displa placed ced by such such land land grabs grabs with with little little or no compen compensat sation ion## These landless peasants have been pushed to the bottom rung of China’s poverty ladder# The land sei"ure and diminishing income of the remaining peasants due to high in9ation which hit a high of .#*: in %&&' resulted in mass migration of rural wor-ers to the cities and industrial regions# There

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was was a stat statis isti tica call rise rise in repor eporte ted d /p /pub ubli lic c orde orderr dist distur urba banc nces es0 0 in the the countr countrysi yside! de! from from being being virtua virtuall lly y none nonexi xiste stent nt in Mao’s Mao’s era era to more more than than ,+&& ,+ &&& & in %& %&&' &'## The The CCP CCP rose ose to powe powerr pred predic icat ated ed on prom promis ises es of an egalitarian society which was in the best interest of the peasant ma;ority# Communist egalitarian ideals# CCP’s developmental strategy for China has been aimed at stim stimul ulat atin ing g urban urban grow growth th at the the expen xpense se of rura rurall well wellb bei eing ng## uch uch has has resulted in widening social and regional disparity# $fter three decades of pro capitalist capitalist reform! reform! rural rural China suers from widening widening income income gap between between urban and rural! which in %&&' was o2cially @A)# 1hen factors such as social services! healthcare and education were ta-en into account! the dierence was an astounding +A)# 5etween %&&% to%&&(! there was a rise from about '(&& '( &&& & to +( +(&& &&& & repor eports ts of rura rurall unres unrests ts## This This can can be trac traced ed to Chin China’ a’s s ascension into the 1TB in %&&)! when the removal of trade barriers on agricultural imports has led to cheaper grains from overseas 9ooding the Chinese mar-et# The increased in9ux of =8< which helped spur the urban development has in turn created high in9ation which further diminished the purchasing power and relative wealth of the farmers# Mass migration into the cities in search of better prospects to escape from rura rurall pove povert rty y also also crea create ted d pote potenti ntial als s of inst instab abil ilit ity y for for the the CCP CCP regim egime# e# Peasantry migration to the cities! which provided cheap labour to fuel the labour labourin inten tensiv sive e indust industrie ries s in China China hence hence attrac attractin ting g =8< creat created ed labour labour shor sh orta tage ges s in the the far farmlan mland d and and inev inevit itab ably ly resul esultt in an impo impove veri rish shed ed countryside# ach year! about %&million from the countryside would migrate to the coastal cities# 8omestic migrants as such caused social problems for the coastal cities from Chinese policies where are understaed to handle the sudd su dden en popu popullatio ation n incr incre ease# ase# ubs ubse equen quenttly! ly! milli illion ons s have ave beco becom me unemployed as numerous exportoriented factories are closed down due to shrin-ing global demands given the %&&,%&&* Dnancial downturns# Eordes of unemployed millions as such could be a ma;or time bomb to the CCP regime# Meanw Meanwhil hile! e! dimini diminishi shing ng food produ producti ction on relat relative ive to rapidl rapidly y rising rising urban urban



in Chinese farms not having the advantage of in B in their production capacity! Chinese food reserves have plunged from a guaranteed threeyear supply to the curr cu rrent ent stoc- of less than three months# This could threaten the political standing of the CCP as traditionally3 the legitimacy of a Chinese government government is often based on its ability to deliver food to its people# Eowever! on closer analysis! the bul- of the peasant protests do not appear to be politi political cally ly motiva motivated ted## They They were were mainly mainly airing airing of local local grieva grievance nces s without the -ind of politically aspirations that may pose a realistic threat to the regime# The mass decentrali"ation of rural activities! isolate and conDne such public disturbances to their region and percent their spread or the formation of a uniDed mobili"ation by political adversaries# imple poc-ets of peasants airing materialistic grievances of dissatisfaction over local o2cials cannot cannot politi political cal change changes# s# 4ocal 4ocal feedbac feedbac- mechan mechanism isms s instit institute uted d by the gover governme nment nt furthe furtherr divide divide and isolat isolate e the magnit magnitude ude and focus focus of rural rural unhappiness# The fact that many brought their petitions to 5ei;ing implied common trust in the integrity of the central government! despite misrule by the authorities# The CCP! mindful that the rural unrest as a consequence of its failed rural policies would adversely impact its political legitimacy and leadership! toosteps steps to appease appease the rural rural prote protesto stors# rs# The /Fo 1est0 est0 and the ocial ocialist ist Countryside Countryside policies policies implemen implemented ted in %&&. were attempts to bring social! health and educational beneDts to the countryside through urbani"ation and commerciali"ation of the inland provinces#


supported rapid urbani"ation and industriali"ation were seen as necessary to fuel fuel the compet competiti itive ve advant advantage age of Chines Chinese e indust industry ry and econom economy y# wift wift economic growth also led to rapid urbani"ation which in turn resulted in more than than half half of China’ China’s s popula populatio tion n living living in cities cities## The number number of peasant peasants s resulted in the magnitude of rural discontent hence diminished! while on the other hand! most urban dwellers are largely grateful to and proud of their government’s government’s economic achievements#

To What Extent Has the Political Legitimacy of the CCP Been Affected by the Negative Consequences of Its Rural Policies

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