Local Governments Lead in Violations of Land Use Law

The per capita cultivated land in China is 1.38 mu, below 40% of the average in the world, said Minister of Land Resources Xu Shaoshin June 25, 2008. From 2001 to 2005, cultivation land in China decreased by 110,000,000 mu, mostly due to urban economic development. Local governments increasingly are the offenders in land uses cases, accounting for 80% of land under investigation, Xu said. For the period between 2001 and 2005, only 1% of government officials in the land use violations were disciplined and about 0.1% of violators were charged with criminal offenses.

Source: Xinhua, June 25, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2008-06/25/content_8433980.htm