The Land Reform Law of the People’s Republic of China

On June 28, 1950, the Eighth Meeting of the Central People's Government Committee adopted the legal document guiding the land reform in the new Liberated Areas. On the eve of the founding of New China, in the autumn of 1948, the land reform in the previously Liberated Areas with a population of 100 million, such as Northeast and North China, was basically completed, and the feudal exploitation system was eliminated.

After the founding of New China, in accordance with the provisions of the Common Program of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, "it is necessary to gradually change the feudal and semi-feudal land ownership into the farmers' land ownership", so as to liberate the rural productive forces, develop agricultural production, and open up the way for the industrialization of New China. Compared with the past, there were some new provisions in this land reform.

For example, by expropriating the surplus land and property of the rich peasants, we should change it into preserving the economy of the rich peasants; in order to protect the land and other property of the middle peasants (including the rich middle peasants), we should adopt the method of "balancing the two ends in the middle" when distributing land.

Between the winter of 1950 to the spring of 1953, the Communist Party of China led the people to carry out the reform of the land system in the rural areas that belonged to the newly Liberated Areas.

With the reform of the land system, more than 300 million landless peasants (including those living in the old Liberated Areas) have freely without compensation obtained about 700 million mu of land and a large number of other means of production, and the peasants, who account for the vast majority of China's population were liberated. The Land Reform Law of the People's Republic of China was of great significance for ensuring the smooth progress of land reform, restoring and developing agricultural production.