Only with a prosperous agriculture will we have a solid
foundation for overall development. Only with farmers becoming well
off will we realize real nationwide prosperity. And only with a
stable countryside will we be able to establish a truly harmonious
society.
Nothing better describes the impact of agriculture, farmers and
countryside on China's future than these three "onlys".
That they appear in a document jointly released on Monday by the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the
State Council suggests the top authorities' utmost concern in
building a new countryside.
This is the fourth consecutive year that the CPC Central
Committee and the State Council have jointly issued a document
elaborating on specifics for pushing the development of agriculture
and rural life.
The 2004 document called for efforts to increase farmers' income
to close the ever-widening gap between urbanites and rural
residents. The second document in 2005 required further increase of
farmers' income and grain output. The third document called for the
building of a rural democratic political system.
As a result, the agricultural tax was canceled in 2005 and
efforts are under way to abolish fees for all rural students'
nine-year compulsory education.
The latest document stresses the development of modern
agriculture as key to developing a new socialist countryside.
Modern methods can increase agricultural output, improve
utilization of resources and increase farmers' expertise along with
their income.
To realize these goals, governments at all levels are required
to shift the bulk of their investment into rural infrastructure and
social development. The increased financial input in education,
healthcare and culture should be primarily spent in improving the
quality of life for rural residents, according to the document.
From the tasks the central authorities have set for local
governments, it is not difficult to get the message that
fundamentally changing the outlook of rural residents and
agriculture has a significant bearing on the nation's overall
progress.
Local governments must work to make the message a reality.
(China Daily January 31, 2007)