MILITARY AND POLITICAL COUNCIL ISSUES REGULATIONS ON RENT REDUCTION IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH CHINA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600300373-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 7, 2011
• Sequence Number: 373
• Publication Date: April 25, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

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SUBJECT Economic - Agriculture, rent and interest
reduction
HOW
PUBLISHED Daily newspaper
WHERE
PUBLISHED New York
DATE
PUBLISHED 13 - 15 Mar 1950
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIALCl11 iE91 1AIN
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
"IN 0000111T CONTAINI INFORMATION WWI.. Tilt NATIONAL DUI.IN
OF TON ONITIC ITAIII .ITNI. Tilt ^1ARIN. OF SPIONA.t ACT NO
N. t. C. I I A.. IN. At A.INOIO. In TxlxlaaON OA TON R.raAnO.
NP V;.,. CONTIOT. IN BUT NANpI TO Ax IINLUTOOIINNO PINION IN P.O.
NI.mo IT M.. IIPRCO.CTIOR or TNU To.. It PNONUMI..
SOURCE Hua-chliao Jih-pao.
DATE OF
INFORMATION 1950
DATE DIST b qpr 1950
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL COUNCIL ISSUES REGULATIONS
ON RENT REDUCTION IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH CHINA
At the first plenary session of the Central and South China Military and Po-
litical Council, the following regulations were passed concerning reduction of rent
and interest rates in the Central and South China District:
Section I. General
1. The following regulations are issued in the interest of promoting the cause
of the peasants and increasing agricultural. production in the Central and South Chi-
na District and are in accord with the provisions of Article 27 of the Common Pro-
gram promulgated by the China People's Political Consultative Council, which out-
lines the methods to be followed previous to carrying out the full land-reform pro-
gram.
Section II. Rent Redur.tion
2. On all lands belo::ging to landlords, old-type well-to-do farmers, public
lands, schools, ancestral halls, temples, and churches, the rent shall be reduced in
accordance with the provisions of these regulations as detailed below. Violators
will have to refund any sum received in excess of the provisions and will also be
dealt with in the courts according to law.
3. All rent, regardless of the nature or interval of payment, shall be reduced
by 25 percent, and after reduction the rent charge shall not exceed 372 percent of
the total crop. If it does exceed that percentage, it shall be reduced. If it is
less than that percentage, it may not be raised.
In cases where the landlord has been furnishing equipment and seeds to the
renter, in addition to the land, a reduction of less than 25 percent in rent may be
made in the interest of keeping up production.
To encourage the breeding of work cattle, those who are progressive in such
breeding need not reduce the rates of hire for such animals.
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CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL CONf HA lAL
STATE
ARMY
DISTRIBUTION
_FT
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G?NFIDENTI~L
4. Products auxiliary to grain raising, such as rice and wheat straw, and in-
cidental crops that grow around the edges of paddy and grain plots shall continue to
belong to the renter.
In the case of supplementary crops, such as tea, silkworms, catalpa trees,
tung nuts, etc., if heretofore the cultivator has taken all these crops, this ar-
rangement shall continue. If the owner and tenant have divided them, the arrange-
ment may continue as before with a 25-percent deduction in the owner's portion. If
the owner has taken all such crops, henceforth, they shall be apportioned in the
same proportion as the main crops after the 25-percent deduction has taken place.
5. Acording to the law, no rents shall be collected until after the harvest.
No advance payments may be required.
6. Aside from the legal rent, no extras may be asked for, such as free labor,
gifts, etc. No tenant may sublease to others, thus securing an unearned increment.
7. All guar..itee deposits on rental agreements that may have been required of
tenants by landowners in the past shall be refunded and the refund shall be equal
in actual value to the value of the amount collected. In case an owner is unable
to make the whole refund in one payment, it may be refunded in installments, the
first of which shall be at least equal to the last installment paid him by the ten-
ant.
8. The year from which the rent reform shall be calculated is the year in
which a people's government was established in the local hsien where the parties
live. No reduction need be made on rental grains delivered before such a government
was established. Rentals due but unpaid before such a government was set up, shall
be canceled. Rentals in arrears that have become debts shall be handled as rental
arrears.
9. Where owners have collected rents without allowing the reduction or have
given an insufficient reduction since the hsien people's government was established,
they shall refund the excess collection to the tenant.
10. Impoverished revolutionary soldiers, families of heroes, families of revo-
lutionary officials, impo?.erished self-employed industrial workers, widowers, widows,
orphans, single persons, etc., who are unable to do farm labor and who have land
holdings of not more than one and one-half times the average holding of other per-
sons (presumably referring to the amount each person would receive under the land-
reform program which they rent out7, may consult with the authorities and the agri-
cultrual association concerning the matter of not reducing their rent charge.
11. Rental questions arising between middle-class farmers and poor farmers
should be regarded as questions among self-cultivators and should be settled on the
basis of mutual agreement or be arbitrated by the officials of the agricultural as-
sociation.
12. After the rent reduction has taken place the renter's privileges shall be
carefully protected. Owners are forbidden to take back any of the land, or re-rent
it secretly, or under false pretenses. Those who under the terms of their lease or
by custom have the right of perpetual lease do not lose this right. As for nonper-
petual leases, the owner may not retract a lease and take possession of the land
during the life of the lease. If, at the expiration of a lease, the owner wishes
tc lease the land again, the present tenant shall have prior claim on the new
lease. If the owner is an old-type well-to-do farmer and wishes to reserve a por-
tion of the land for self-cultivation, or to hire others to cultivate it to meet
the needs of his own livelihood, he should also have regard for the livelihood of
the old tenant and should reduce the rent on the unreserved portion of his land for
the tenant's benefit. He must also have the approval of the local agricultural
association and the ch'u authorities before making such a reservation.
50X1-HUM I
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13. After the rent reduction, the local authorities, in consultation with the
agricultural association, may readjust the amount of land being cultivated by ten-
ants, such as well-to-do farmers, so as to reduce the rental holdings of some in
the interest of allowing larger rental holdings to poor farmers in order to better
their livelihood.
14. After the rent reduction, old-lease contracts should be voided and new
ones made. After owners have reduced rent according to the law, tenants must pay
the legal rent, but in case of unpreventable calamities which reduce yields, such
as war, fire, drought, storm, and insect pests, owners should reduce or cancel rent
payments in recognition of the tenant's hardship.
15. During the period of overthrowing the tyranny of the landlords and securing
rent reduction, there will be changes of ownership. When a regular tenant has sown
his seed before a change in ownership occurs, he will be responsible to the new own-
er for only the legal rent,,all other income from the land he is cultivating will go
to the tenant.
16. After the rent reduction, public grain and other taxes of similar nature
should be paid by both tenant and owner in the proportion in which they receive the
benefits of the crop. Owners who have not made the rent reduction according to law
shall be responsible for the whole of the above taxes and grain contribution. If,
in the past, the owner has been making the total contribution of the above taxes, he
may make a reduction of less than 25 percent in the rent, according to the circum-
stances. Land taxes shall be borne entirely by the owner.
Section III. Interest Reduction and Debt Adjustment
17. The provisions of this section relate to debts contracted by cultivators
for loans from landlords or wealthy farmers at high rates of interest before the es-
tablishment of a people's government in the concerned hsien. After the establish-
ment of such a government, interest rates for loans shall be determined by negotia-
tion between the parties concerned according to the principle of freedom of action.
The authorities will not set the rates. Loans made under the new conditions must
be paid.
18. Debts for loans contracted by cultivators before the establishment of a
people's government in the hsien shall all be settled on the basis of 12 percent in-
terest per month. If the debtor has already paid interest equal in amount to twice
the principal, he may cease paying further interest and apply all his future pay-
ments on the principal. If he has already paid interest equal to three times the
principal, both principal and interest shall be considered as paid and the whole ob-
ligation canceled. When a debt shall have been settled by the newly established le-
gal method, all security which has been held by the creditor, whether land or other
property, shall be returned to the debtor. If an agreement has been made to sell
the security to the creditor, it need not be returned.
19. When money has been borrowed by a cultivator on a growing crop, at an ex-
orbitant rate of interest with a contract to deliver the crop at a fixed price to
pay off the loan, the fixed price shall be disregarded and the crop delivered at
the prevailing market rate. The interest shall be refigured at the new legal max-
imum of 12 percent a month. After the people's government has been established in
the hsien, interest rates shall be established in each case by mutual negotiation.
20. Disputes concerning debts contracted among middle-class farmers and poor
farmers shall be adjudicated by the local people's government in consultation with
the agricultural association, since it is to be regarded as a matter concerning
cultivators.
21. Debts arising from trade in commercial goods among the merchant class are
not affected by the above regulations concerning reduction of interest rates.
CO@'iF65E T!Al.
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CDVIDEMIAL
22. Creditors of the landlord and wealthy farmer classes who have made loans
at exorbitant interest -.rtes before the setting up of the hsien people's government
and who after the setting up of such a government have refused to make an adjust-
ment at the new legal maximum rate of interest, and have insisted on continuing to
collect interest at the old rate, shall make an adjustment at the new legal rate
and shall refund to the debtor the amounts of excessive interest they have collected
after the, new government was established.
Section IV. Special Land Questions
23. Members of the gentry, extortioners, landlords, and wealthy farmers who
have occupied the lands of cultivators unlawfully shall be investigated, when ac-
cused by cultivators, by a government agency of k above a ch'u. If the charges
prove true, those persons shall be dealt with according to law and shall return the
occupied land without compensation.
24. Upon application of the hsien authorities, convicted war criminals and
antirevolutionaries shall be dealt with by the provincial government or a specially
appointed agency such as an administrative office or special commissioner's office.
Their property may be confiscated and distributed among those with small holdings.
However, members of their families who have not joined in their illegal activities
shall have their portions awarded to them.
25. Those who flee to avoid reducing rents and interest, and extortionate
landlords and wealthy farmers who have fled, may be ordered to return within a giv-
en time and carry out their responsibilities under the new laws. If they fail to
comply, those who are in charge of their property may be ordered to carry out the
reforms and furnish the public grain. In addition, the persons who have fled and
disregarded the instructions of the government shall be apprehended and dealt with
by law.
26. Administrative committees should be organized among tribes, villages, or
districts to take charge of tribal, temple, public, or school lands. After the re-
duction of rent according to law and after fulfillment of obligations to the gov-
ernment, the income that heretofore has been used for schools shall continue to be
so used. Other income may, after public discussion, be used for increasing produc-
tion, famine relief, or other projects for the benefit of the r'iblic.
27. Public waste lands shall be assigned by the government to poor persons for
cultivation; however, in the cultivation of such lands, groves or forests shall not
be disturbed, for this would disturb the water supply and adversely affect produc-
tion. These lands may eventually become the property of those who cultivate them.
Landlords and wealthy farmers who have uncultivated lands shall be encouraged to
open them to cultivation. If they are unable or unwilling to do this, the govern-
ient authorities may assign them to others for cultivation, but without alienation
of title. To encourage cultivators to open these lands and attain high production,
persons cultivating waste lands shall have them rent and tax free for 5 years and
those cultivating fallow lands shall enjoy the same privileges for 3 years.
28. According to Articles 24 and 27, impoverished families of revolutionary
heroes and families of soldiers have prior claim in the distribution of the confis-
cated properticc of war criminals and unrepenting antirevolutionaries.
Section V. Supplementary Regulations
29. The disposition of all incomes realized by the agricultural associations,
agricultural delegates assemblies on all levels, and the committee elected by them
in the enforcement of the rent- and interest-reduction program shall be made by
the agricultural associations, but the power of final decision shall rest with
government agencies above the ch'u level.
CONFIDE TIA
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30. The property of industrialists and commercial operators and the legal in-
comes received from them, including the subsidiary industries and commercial enter-
prises operated by landlords and wealthy farmers, shall be inviolate.
31. In the areas where land distribution has already been completed, the por-
tions of land and property allotted to landlords and old-type wealthy farmers by
the agricultural populace shall not be revised. Violations of this rule shall be
handled by the authorities according to rulings in each case made by the provincial
authorities.
32. The governments of each province shall set up practical programs of proce-
dure, in accordance with these regulations and local conditions, to be carried out
after approval by the Central and South China Military and Political Council.
33. These regulations are for application only in rural and suburban areas.
Separate regulations are provided for disposition of land, buildings, debts, etc.,
in the cities.
34. The right of revision and interpretation of these regulations rests with
the Central and South Military and Political Committee. The previous regulations
promulgated by the Central Plains Provisional Peoples government under the heading
"Regulations for Reduction of Rent and Interest in Newly Liberated Areas" are here-
by canceled.
35. These regulations shall be in effect from the date of promulgation.
C~g;~FIDEP~TIAL
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