AMCHAM Land Reform and Rural China: An Update from the Field * Roy Prosterman, Founder and Chair Emeritus, Rural Development Institute, and Professor Emeritus, University of Washington School of Law * Li Ping, Attorney and Beijing Office Chief Representative, Rural Development Institute    Tuesday, January 13, 2009 Law Committee Can secure land rights for China's rural citizens help narrow the urban-rural divide, reduce unrest, improve rural wealth and stability and reduce urban migration? Between 750 - 800 million people live in China's countryside, where they depend on agriculture for a substantial part of their livelihood. Although this rural majority initially reaped great benefits from decollectivization, they have lagged further and further behind their urban counterparts. As rural land is taken for urban development, rural unrest is growing, with thousands of demonstrations and incidents of instability annually, most of them land-related. During the past decade, the central government has crafted a series of laws, declarations, and policy decisions intended to protect Chinese farmers' economic interests. A tug-of-war has ensued between the center and the local cadres over the implementation of the legal rules affecting farmers' land rights. Much depends on the resolution of this contest: whether farmers can safely invest in their land and gain meaningful land wealth to cushion urban migration; whether the urban-rural gap can begin to close; whether rural stability will grow or deteriorate; and whether rural China will move towards being a society where the rule of law prevails. In 2008, the Seattle-based Rural Development Institute (RDI), which has worked in rural China for more than twenty years, conducted the fourth in a series of large-scale, independent surveys on these crucial issues. Join two attorneys from RDI--Mr. Roy Prosterman and Mr. Li Ping--who have been closely involved in RDI's work in China, to discuss the survey results, the implications for China's overall development and critical further measures needed. Please join us for this discussion. Venue AmCham Conference Room 1904 Bank of America Tower 12 Harcourt Road, Central, Hong Kong Time 8-9:30am (light buffet breakfast) Inquiries and booking Christy Li Tel: (852) 2530 6900 Fax: (852) 2810 1289 Email: cli@amcham.org.hk Mail: Events Dept AMCHAM 1904 Bank of America Tower, 12 Harcourt Rd, Hong Kong Member Fee Non Member Fee HK$150 HK$200 MEDIA WELCOME For media inquiries, please contact Mark Wong Email: mwong@amcham.org.hk Tel: (852) 2530 6917 Fax: (852) 2810 1289  AMCHAM Member              Non AMCHAM Member                            Total HK$ Date         :                                                              Crossed check #                           payable to        Name       :                                                              The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong Job Title   :                                                              Bank :                                                                                      Company :                                                              Charge to: AMEX / Diners / Visa / MasterCard Nature of Business:                                               Cardholder's Name :                                                                Address  :                                                              Card #                                                                                                                                                                     Issuing Bank :                                        Exp Date :        /         Tel           :                             Fax  :                         Signature : Email        :                                                              Website   :                                                              (Not valid unless signed) Membership in AMCHAM is in an individual basis. Fellow employees who are not AMCHAM Members and other guests may enroll at non-member fees. Once received, bookings are considered confirmed. No-shows will be charged. Substitution of non-members may be made at the non-member price. All cancellations must be notified in writing at least one working day for events and six working days for conferences & workshops. When Typhoon 8 (or above) or Black Rainstorm Signal is hoisted, all events will be cancelled.
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