HOW TO REALIZE THE LAND-TO-THE-TILLER POLICY
By Premier Chen Cheng
Reviewed by Frank Chiu
One of the non-fiction best sellers in Taipei today is a small book in Chinese written by Premier Chen Cheng, entitled Ju Ho Shih Hsien Keng Tze Yu Chi Tien or How to Realize the Land-to-the-Tiller Policy. The book was published by the Cheng Chung Book Company early this month, and an English version will soon come out.
This is the first time that a prime minister in office publishes a book on a policy which is being practised by his government. Premier Chen Cheng's book gives us a concise account of the land policy he has followed and the practical methods he has adopted for land reform. It is common knowledge that the premier is the prime mover of the land rent reduction program in Taiwan, but that program is only the beginning of the story. Premier Chen Cheng has mapped out a whole set of land reform programs, starting with land rent reduction, which aims at improving the existing land tenure system. His objective is to realize the land-to-the-tiller policy as laid down by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in his Three People's Principles. This is to be done through the enforcement of the measures outlined in How to Realize the Land-to-the-Tiller Policy. The essential theme is to enable those who till the land to own it so as to root out exploitation by the landlords under the age-old land tenure system. Premier Chen Cheng is perhaps one of the very few Chinese leaders who have a life-long interest in land reform, for he was, according to the book, "born and brought up on a farm." He says in the beginning of his book: "When I was young, I often heard that China was an agricultural country. My feelings then were that life of the farmers was very hard. Though I failed to understand why, the question had always existed in my mind." This prompted him to explore into the sufferings of the peasants and to study the land problem. After he joined the revolutionary armies and read Dr. Sun Yat-sen's writings, he became convinced that the solution of the land problem should be the fundamental task of China's National Revolution. He told himself that whenever an opportunity presented itself, he must work hard for land reform in order to alleviate the sufferings of the farmers, who constitute 80 per cent of the Chinese population.
Premier Chen Cheng's determination for land reform was further strengthened when he, as Governor of Hupeh, introduced a land rent reduction program in the western part of that province in 1940. He writes about his experiences in Hupeh as follows:
"A great drought broke out in Hupeh in 1940. The situation was rather serious. I mobilized the troops to help the farmers in pumping water into the fields and thought this would be welcome to the farmers. But on the contrary, the response was rather cool, and in some cases there was even opposition. I was at a loss at such a psychological state. Only after many inquiries did I find out that the farmers were praying the early death of the rice crops so that they could plant miscellaneous cereals instead, because in harvesting rice, they had to pay high rent to the landlords, while in planting miscellaneous cereals, they would pay very little or no rent at all."
This made a very strong impression on Chen Cheng, who was further convinced that unless China's feudalistic land system had been reformed, China would not be able to become a progressive country. When he was appointed Governor of Taiwan in 1949, he listed land reform as the first task of the provincial administration. The program he put in motion has its definite objective, that is, to enable the peasants to own the land they till, and steps to be taken for its enforcement are in regular sequence as outlined in General Chen Cheng's Guiding Principles for the Administration of the Taiwan Provincial Government for 1950, formulated prior to his resignation in December, 1949. These steps are, according to the order of enforcement, (1) reduction of land rent to the maximum rate of 37.5 per cent of the total yield of the main crops, (2) sale of public land to the tenant farmers so as to create more independent farmers, (3) reform of urban land, and (4) reform of private farmland.
The program for the reduction of land rent has been successfully carried out in Taiwan in 1949, with the assistance of the Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction. The enforcement of the program took only three months, from April to June, when new contracts of lease were signed between the landlords and the tenants throughout the island. The program was smoothly put through because of adequate planning and preparations and cooperation of both the landlords and the tenants. The results are most gratifying. The income of the tenants has been increased by 30 per cent. They are now buying land. The betterment of their living conditions has further given them an incentive to produce more, for the more they produce, the greater will be their income. As a result, agricultural production in Taiwan has been greatly increased during the last three years. The production of rice in 1950 was more than 1,400,000 tons, an increase by 40 per cent as compared with 1948. This was more than sufficient for local consumption. The figure is expected to reach 1,500,000 tons this year.
The success of the land rent reduction program has paved the way for further reform, as the landlords are selling their land because they now find investment in land does not yield large profit. This leads to the sale of public land by the government to the tenant farmers and the reform of private farmland. The complete success of Premier Chen Cheng's land reform programs is, therefore, not far in sight.
Premier Chen Cheng has been very conscious of the danger of his measures for land reform being ignored after the change of personnel. A Chinese saying runs: "When a man leaves for another post, his policies also come to an end." This proves true in the case of General Chen Cheng's land rent reduction program in Hupeh which was changed after he was transferred to post of Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese expeditionary Force in Yunnan in 1943. In view of this, Premier Chen Cheng introduced to the Legislative Yuan, China's supreme law-making body, in the winter of 1950 a resolution for adoption of the Regulations Governing the 37.5 Per Cent Land Rent Rate. These regulations were adopted by the Legislative Yuan in May, 1951, and were promulgated by President Chiang Kai-shek in the following month.
Premier Chen Cheng has also drafted an outline for the reform of private farmland, calling for an overall reform in Taiwan. This outline appears in his book. He hopes that after careful study and revision, this outline will be sent to the Legislative Yuan for discussion and adoption next year. Upon the enforcement of this program, Taiwan's land reform will be completed according to plan.
How to Realize the Land-to-the-Tiller Policy covers in details the above-mentioned measures as outlined by Premier Chen Cheng. The 138-page book has seven chapters with an appendix containing Premier Chen Cheng's major speeches on land reform and the related laws and regulations. These chapters are: (1) Foreword, (2) Land Rent Reduction in Hupeh, (3) Land Rent Reduction in Taiwan, (4) Sale of Public Land. (5) Reform of Urban Land, (6) Reform of Private Farmland, and (7) Conclusion. The book is written in a clear and pithy style, with a personal touch but an authoritative treatment. Chapter I is particularly interesting as in it the author relates how he became interested in land reform as the fundamental issue of the nation, how he worked for it, and what he believes in such reform.
The success of the land rent reduction program has been instrumental in improving the relations between the government and the people in Taiwan. Fifty-one years of Japanese rule in Taiwan and the lack of proper readjustment following its restoration to China had caused great unhappiness among the islanders. As Governor of Taiwan in 1949, General Chen Cheng took strong measures, among other things, to reform the existing land tenure system, thereby raising the standard of living of the farmers to a great extent. The fact that the farmers of Taiwan today refer to the premier as "Uncle Chen Cheng" indicates how the attitude of the people towards the government has changed and how much confidence the government has won from the people by paying greater attention to the welfare of the majority.
Premier Chen Cheng has the vision of molding Taiwan into a pattern of land reform for future practice on the mainland when it is recovered from the Communists. He believes that his "peaceful and progressive methods" for land reform will eventually win the support of the people and defeat the brutal methods as now employed by the Communists on the mainland. In conclusion, he says:
"I am very happy to have been able to lay a foundation for land reform in Taiwan as a pattern for similar reform in other provinces. We are all aware that the problem of land is not only a problem for China alone; it is also a problem for all other Asian countries. It is our earnest hope that after the recovery of the mainland, full attention will be given to the solution of this problem so as to realize Dr. Sun Yat-sen's land-to-the-tiller policy."
Premier Chen Cheng has made a significant contribution by elaborating his policies and methods for land reform in Taiwan. His book gives us a clear understanding of China's fundamental problem and the approach we should take towards solving it. It also provides an important book of reference for other countries engaged in lane reform, which has now become a weapon for the global economic struggle against Communism, as advocated by the United Nations today in its proposal for land reform throughout the world.