Yesterday, Fang Xingyao, member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Vice President of the Chinese Catholic Bishops’ Delegation, told the correspondent that he has submitted a proposal to the Conference (2^nd Session of 11^th Conference of the Chinese People Congress and Chinese People’s Consultative Conference), recommending that the Central Government should strategically organize large numbers of Chinese peasants to go to frontier areas including Hei Longjiang Province and Xinjiang to develop an agricultural industry by cultivating lands.

CPPCC member Fang Xingyao said that recently a large number of peasant laborers are returning to their home places after being laid off by many small and medium size factories and industries that were either shutdown or forced to go bankruptcy. If this situation is not properly handled, this population will become a potential source of social instability. However, in frontier provinces including Xinjiang, Hei Longjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Qing Hai, there are large pieces of empty lands that have not yet been cultivated, which is an enormous waste of resource. Therefore, the Government should organize those recently unemployed peasant laborers and create a condition that encourages them to go to the frontier regions to cultivate these lands, as well as providing them with free technical training.

CPPCC member Fang Xingyao also recommended that the Government should adopt a preferential policy to encourage these peasants to start their own businesses by providing financial loans, lands and housing, as well as periodic technical training.

Read this article in the original Chinese: http://lianghui2009.people.com.cn/GB/145751/8945831.html