Guangzhou (China Daily/ANN) - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has pledged unwavering support for reform and opening-up in the face of current challenges and urged better laws to protect the voice of farmers in rural community administration.
At a time of global uncertainty, furthering reform is still the means of solving all of China's problems, Wen said while visiting Guangdong, a southern province that took the lead in China's opening to the outside world, from Friday to Saturday.
"The reform and opening-up should be implemented unswervingly, or we will only reach a dead end," said Wen, citing former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who made a famous speech during his inspection tour of southern China 20 years ago.
Wen called for determination and boldness in pushing forward reform and opening-up, especially with regard to making long-term plans for certain areas.
Wen stressed the importance of ensuring the right of farmers to vote and the direct election of village-level leadership, which he labeled an important task for local authorities.
He said self-governance is the only appropriate way to improve rural community administration, noting that local affairs should be decided by villagers themselves.
There should be a strict legal system and regulations for elections as well as election procedures that are open, fair and transparent, he said.
Last week the first policy document for 2012 issued by the country's top leadership also said the nation will accelerate revisions of relevant laws to improve its policies regarding rural land.
The government will work to improve the rules of reconciliation and arbitration of land disputes, the document said.
Last year, illegal land grabs and other regulatory issues caused mass protests in China. A dispute over land use, financing and elections in Wukan village, Guangdong province, led to large-scale protests by villages against local authorities that started in September.
Premier Wen said in late December that China should strive to promote agricultural modernization and protect farmers' rights in order to boost the development of rural areas.
He said farmers enjoy the legal rights of land contracting, land use and collective income distribution as basic protections no matter if they move into the cities or stay in the countryside.
Thousands of residents in Wukan turned out on Wednesday to cast ballots for an 11-member election committee that will supervise the March 1 election of new village leaders to replace those removed after the protests.
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