Urbanize and Prosper

Urbanize and Prosper
作者：暂无
来源：《今日中国·英文版》 2013年第7期
By staff reporter LIU YI
THE population of rural TunxiDistrict, seat of Huangshan Cityin Anhui Province, has fallen 10percent over the last decade. Ofthe remaining 40,000 people still livingin villages in the suburbs, most have jobsin the city. At the present pace of cityexpansion, urbanization should be completedwithin five years.
During the urbanization process, ruralcitizens have entered the urban publicservice system, and village assets haveswelled in tandem with land acquisitionand revaluation. It is, however, imperativeto review and upgrade modes of assetmanagement so as to benefit farmers whohave relinquished their land.
Adjacent to the downtown area, Hubian,a village covering just two sq km,has accumulated considerable assets andcapital over the last decade through landacquisitions and revaluations. In 2012,they had an estimated value of aroundRMB 270 million, and were managed bythe village’s CPC committee and
villagers’committee. Those at management level,however, had differing opinions on theuse of these funds.
As they related directly to welfare,these monies were of considerable concernto villagers, some of whom insistedon their even distribution among all thoseinvolved. “After the village liquidated itsassets, residents became worried aboutmoney manageme nt,” said Wu Jianqing,director of the Hubian Village Committee.
“Some wanted to divide and distributeall of it down to the last penny. Butthese funds had accumulated through theefforts of all villagers over the years. Dividingand distributing them wou ld haveleft nothing for our descendants.”
Villager to Shareholder
In July 2012, the Tunxi district governmentlaunched a pilot scheme in
18villages to transform village assets intoa joint-stock company. By becomingshareholders, villagers stood to benefitfrom the collective’s assets and capitalthat, moreover, seemed safer under theirsupervision.
As one of the pilot villages, Hubiandispatched a team of villagers to Jiangsuand Zhejiang provinces to learn howto proceed. But they soon found they were about to open a can of troublesomeworms. Of all the villages concerned,Hubian had the most assets, includingcommercial buildings, land, a reservoir,and more than RMB 10 million of capitalin the bank. Since the late 1970s, whenfarmland was first allocated to households,the village had twice reallocatedits land. This made equity distributionextremely complex.
As every village’s situation was different,the district government allowedeach to formulate its own policy, on thestrict proviso that all villagers enjoy
equalbenefits from the shares. Draft policies,therefore, could come into effect
only afterbeing approved at a general meetingof stockholders.
In Hubian, the policy was drafted fivetimes in about four months.
“Althoughonly 1,700 people were i nvolved, the situationwas nonetheless complicated,” Wusaid. “Some people had farmland andothers did not; some now lived in the city,among them people that had been awayfrom the village for extended periods. Aseveryone had different views we solicitedopinions door-to-door. The process waslong and difficult, but villagers eventuallyapproved the draft policy.”
The newly established company wasdivided into 12,000 shares, each worthRMB
20,000. Every resident villager wasallocated four shares and those who hadmoved away were given one. Resident villagersthat owned farmland received twoextra shares. The policy was exhaustivelydiscussed, announced for public opinions,revised time
and again and eventuallyreceived 95 percent of votes.
Villagers also voted for shareholderrepresentatives. They, in turn, voted fora five-person board to manage collectiveassets and a three-person board of supervisors.
Eighty percent of profits wereto be allocated to shareholders and theremaining 20 percent used as operatingcapital. The policy also stipulated thatshares could be inherited, but not transferredor withdrawn, to “allow offspringa bowl of rice,” rather than “grabbing ricefrom offspring.”
The transformation of Hubian is nowcomplete. Each villager has a capitalstock certificate, although the first year’sdividends have not yet been produced.Wu Jianqing estimates that total collectiveassets could bring in an income of about RMB 4.7 million. Dividing up threemillion would bring to a villager holdingsix shares a dividend of RMB 1,500, soguaranteeing their basic livelihood.
Long-term Benefits
Hubian Village was renamed HubianCommunity in 2004, so declaring itsnew
identity as a part of an urban area.However, operation of the village stillfollowed its original rural mode. Many ofthese new urbanites developed a sense ofinsecurity at losing land inherited overgenerations from their ancestors. Thisbecame manifest
in their wish to divideall collective assets, on the assumptionthat “only mon ey in the pocket is safe.”Since the shareholder transformationwas completed in 2012, the original villageassets have come under the managementof a new company, while the HubianCommunity Committee has handledlocal social affairs. The village, as a collectiveconcept, has since disappeared,as has the social relationship between
itand villagers. The latter are entitled tothe economic benefits generated by theoriginal village assets in their capacity asshareholders.
Cheng Jianjia, a Hubian villager, hadoften considered moving to the downtownarea because he no longer ownedfarmland and worked in the city. But hewas inhibited by fear of losing the right tobenefit from the collective assets.
Sincethe shareholder transformation, he is freeto move to any place he likes while
continuingto receive yearly dividends. Healso has access to the urban social securitysystem by virtue of his new domicile.
The shareholder transformation hasboosted villagers’ vitality. Residents ofneighboring Shewuqian Village havemade a detailed plan on managing andincreasing their assets. It entails constructinga commercial building to improvefacilities in the area and buildingstandardized workshops for non-pollutanthigh-tech companies.
Safeguarding the interests of the peopleis key to the transformation, accordingto Li Gaofeng, secretary of the TunxiDistrict CPC Committee. Since becomingshareholders, the original villagers canlook forward to a long-term income aswell as standard social insurance andwelfare.
Focus on Folk
Excessively rapid urbanization madeHubian a city-besieged village, so generatingsocial problems such as out-ofdateinfrastructure, evident in drainageand electricity systems that failed to meetthe demands of a growing population.
“It was not uncommon fo r people tofall, after nightfall, into the open-air pitsthat served as toilets in the sole rooflesslatrine built in the center of the village,”Wu Jianqing recalled. As Hubian is onthe banks of the Xin’an River, during therainy season villagers had to pack up andbe ready to move at a moment’s notice.
As more and more villagers took upwork in manufacturing or in the city serviceand tourism industries, their incomeincreased. They were keen to integrateinto city life and enjoy the convenience ofa modern lifestyle and the benefits of theurban pubic service system. In 2012, newhouses for Hubian villagers were completed,each covering around 200 square metersamid complete infrastructure. “Somepeople didn’t want to move at first, butwhen the new community was
fi nishedeveryone wanted to be part of it,” Wu said.Now these new urbanites also enjoyspecial welfare from the joint-stock company.For example, seniors over 60 receivean extra allowance of RMB 120 everymonth. It is also possible to receive
70to 80 percent reimbursement of medicalexpenses on paying just RMB 200 RMB ayear. Young adults at college also stand toobtain scholarships from the community.
Hubian has still more ambitious plansfor its future. Villagers retained some ofthe old houses during their relocation andmoved them to the banks of the
Xin’anRiver, the village’s original location.After careful planning and renovationthese houses are now a local pleasure,entertainment and dining destination.A troupe of village elders perform traditionalfolk activities such as dragon andlion dances there.
“We want to keep these old housesin commemoration of our village andrespect
for history,” Wu Jianqing said.Urbanization is an inevitable trend inmodern society, but also an opportunityto review and pass on village values andtraditions.。