Meng believed land law enforcement efforts have been paying off.

"More officials and people have realized that the central government wants to keep its word in protecting precious land resources with the 'strictest measures.'"

Li Xun, former mayor of Bengbu in Anhui Province, and Xu Youxiong, Bengbu's head construction official, were among officials being punished by the ministry for land abuse in 2000.

In 1998, without approval from provincial land authorities, the Bengbu municipal government began construction of an administration building on 13.8 hectares of cultivated land.

When the provincial government protested, Li's people made a false claim the land would be used for building housing provided for residents with middle or low incomes.

After the deception was revealed, the building was confiscated by the provincial land authorities. Li received an administrative warning and Xu was demoted.

Of the 26 people involved in the 11 cases handled yesterday, 18 were government officials.

"The pursuit of local economic development," a popular motivation behind land abuse activities, will not excuse perpetrators from severe punishment, Meng insisted.

The Ministry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Supervision drafted a regulation last year stipulating detailed punishments for a number of illegal land-use practices.

Meng claimed, however, that the regulation has failed to deter land abuse because the punishments it levied were too lenient.

"But we have stepped up related supervision and law enforcement efforts to avoid this in the future," he said.

Besides mobilizing local branches across the country to start a nationwide re-check of the handling of recent land-abuse cases, the ministry will organize three spot checks this year in the country's major cities, where land abuse is more common due to rapid economic development.

(China Daily 07/11/2001)