A senior official of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Wednesday brought attention to the fact that many Chinese farmers have lost their land either through unfair sales or illegal confiscation, with land belonging to 40 million farmers being used, partially or wholly, for purposes other than agriculture.

As a result of which, problems have emerged relating to rural production, living conditions and social instability.

The remarks were made by Uyun Qimg, vice chairwoman of the NPC Standing Committee, in a report on the implementation of the Law on Agriculture to the ongoing 18th session of the 10th NPC Standing Committee.

According to official figures from the Bureau of Letters and Calls of the NPC Standing Committee, 2,938 letters were received in 2003 and 5,407 in 2004, most relating to illegal confiscation and occupation of farmland, unreasonable compensation to farmers, and failure to properly resettle affected rural families.

In her report, Uyun Qimg also accused some employers of failing to sign contracts with employees from rural areas despite the fact that these rural workers have to work long hours for low salaries and without work safety insurance. 

In 2004, the average monthly pay for transient workers from rural areas was 780 yuan (about US$97.5), 58 percent of that of their urban counterparts.

In cities, rural transients mostly do dirty, tiring, risky and manual-intensive jobs. More than half of them suffer from occupational diseases and ailments.

(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2005)