Land Protests in the People’s Republic of China

Abstract

This article argues that the People’s Republic of China’s domestic politics since the late 1990s have been dominated notably by sectoral issues, such as land reforms, environment protests, migration issues, and so forth. All of which have one thing in common, namely challenging the well-established system under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime. The land protests are highlighted given three facts. First, even though certain non-political issues emerged simultaneously in the early 2000s, the land protest becomes the much-concerned issue across the country. Second, the land seizure as the driving force of land protests turns out as the way for provincial officers to amass wealth since the national government could not improve welfare of those lower-ranking state officers. Third, the farmers exert the land protest issue as the bargaining to challenge both national and local officers. Eventually, the varied ways to launch strikes undertaken by farmers remain a fascinating subject to be observed.