Land Conflict and the Transformation of Local Governance

Abstract

The design of land acquisition system (LAS) is a reflection of antagonisms of government-farmer relationships (GFRs) in China and is a point from which to examine adjustments of local governance. Due to the scarcity and irreplaceability of land resources, inelastic demand cannot be realized by the market or by other means when a nation must use specific land for the public (Zhang 2005). Therefore, LAS has generally been established in all countries worldwide, and the demand for land for national public construction is met by obtaining land from other subjects using national public power (Xu 2011). This arrangement of land use is referred to as the practice of “supreme land rights” in the US; as “compulsory purchasing” in the UK; as “land requisition” in Japan; as “land acquisition” in France, Germany, and Taiwan; and as the “resumption of Crown land” in Hong Kong. In China, land acquisition refers to a form of administrative action through which the state can (for the public) transfer rural collective land into state-owned land in accordance with the law. Land acquisition practices, legal systems, administrative enforcement systems, and acquisition management systems constitute the foundation of the Chinese LAS.