Requesting a social practice survey report

Foreword

China’s reform and opening up has a history of more than 20 years. But Shacun, located in the center of the Pearl River Delta, only has a history of reform and opening up for ten years. Before the land in Shacun was expropriated by the state as part of a new development zone in 1991, Shacun was still one of the most isolated, ignorant, and backward areas in rural China. After the land acquisition, the real money obtained, the dream of entering the city, and the illusion of continuing to make a fortune aroused great enthusiasm and hope in the villagers.

What is frightening is that the enthusiasm and hope of the villagers only lasted for about three years before turning to worry and disappointment.

This survey provides a specific example of the general ignorance and backwardness, simple illusions, and especially the incompetence and corruption of cadres in some rural areas in China, in the process of turning from hope to disappointment under certain circumstances. and how the illicit workings of power networks work. We can see the concrete manifestations of the important concepts of tolerance and social justice in this process of change. We also see that just when the market economy requires new organization, scale, and intensification, the original rural collective economy has collapsed, and there are no signs of new economic forces organizing the rural economy. This has to make people lament how long China's road to modernization is still.

There are currently more than 1,200 registered villagers in Shacun. A small number of them go out to work or do business and rarely live in the village. The surnames in Shacun are mixed, with three major surnames: Cheng, Chu, and Zhang. Among them, only the surname Zhang comes from the same family. There are many factions of people with the surname Cheng and Chu, who come from different regions. People with the same surname sometimes form friendships or recognize each other as relatives, but there is no ancestral temple for a certain surname.

Historically, the geographical advantages of the area where Sha Village is located have not been discovered or exploited. Ten years ago, the area where Sha Village is located was isolated by water networks. There were no roads in the peninsula, only a dirt road leading to the county seat, which was basically closed. There was no land, only mudflats and rocky hills. There are more than 40 quarries on the 54 square kilometers of ground. Such a dilapidated and closed place had no investment and development value in the eyes of the government at that time. If a well-known foreign businessman had not decided to invest here for overall development after repeated inspections, this area would not be as prosperous and wealthy as it is now. After foreign businessmen acquired the land at the end of 1991, after ten years of hard work, the area where Sha Village is located has become a transportation hub in the Pearl River Delta. A beautiful modern coastal city quietly stands on the original bad beach and rock pond.

Shacun is located next to the new city. There are rows of new buildings in the village, vying for beauty. There is a constant flow of motorcycles on the narrow village roads, and private cars shuttle back and forth. The villagers were happy to end their hard farming life and enjoy the comfort of city dwellers. However, the villagers have no land and their household registration status is "agricultural population", so they do not enjoy the benefits of urban residents. Shacun was also reorganized into the "Shacun Management District", but its power structure did not change. It just changed its signboard.

The new city is being built step by step and rhythmically, unlike many other emerging cities in China that build buildings, shopping malls and factories to absorb the flow of outsiders. The construction of the new city is far from as fast as the villagers imagined. As the collective economy of the village withered rapidly within a few years, the enthusiasm of the villagers in the early stage of development gradually cooled down, and their disappointment and confusion gradually increased. They didn't get rich overnight and enjoy eternal comfort as they expected.

Various complex and interesting stories unfold against this background.

1. Land expropriation by foreign businessmen: "There was money in the village at that time"

Sha Village originally had 1,123 acres of cultivated land, plus rotten riverbank land, mountainous land, etc., and 1,362 acres of land were acquired. , the town management committee where Sha Village is located (hereinafter referred to as the management committee). According to the documents issued by the city where Shacun is located in 1992, compensation is 12,000 yuan per mu, including "land compensation," "young crop compensation," and "labor resettlement subsidy." Shacun *** received 16.344 million yuan in land acquisition funds. In addition to paying 5,020,582.09 yuan for young crop compensation and labor resettlement fees, there was also about 11.323 million yuan.

After the village branch meeting decided and the members' meeting approved, each villager will be given a one-time payment of 4,000 yuan. Starting from 1994, for three years, each adult will receive 300 yuan per month, and those under 16 years old will receive 200 yuan for living expenses. In addition to the land acquisition funds, the funds distributed also come from the contracting funds of the four stone quarries owned by the village and the transfer funds of the village's private land.

Sha Village has about 230 acres of private land. According to data released by the village before 1995, *** transferred 110 acres of private land, with prices per square meter ranging from 250 yuan to 450 yuan, and receivables The amount was 22,077,804 yuan, of which 10,702,604 yuan was actually received and 10,875,200 yuan was still owed. The recovery of arrears and the status of land transactions in 1995 and later were not made public until 2000. In 2000, the Management Committee required each management district under its jurisdiction to set up a financial bulletin board to announce construction projects, fixed assets, income distribution, land acquisition status, etc. In Shacun's November 2000 "Land Requisition Compensation Revenue and Expenditure Announcement Table", the amount receivable for land requisition is 15,085,040 yuan. The table does not indicate the time of land requisition, so the historical situation of land requisition is unclear. After comparison with the 1994 land acquisition announcement form, it was found that the original land acquisition amount received was not reflected in the new form. Of the 15,085,040 yuan, 9,270,200 yuan was included in the 1994 announcement form. Arrears. According to normal understanding, Shacun sold 20 acres of land from 1995 to 2000, with receivables of 5,814,840 yuan. (According to the "List of Land Acquisition and Related Situations in the Seven Management Areas in Eastern Nansha" issued by the office on October 30, 1994, Sha Village transferred 50 acres of land at a price of 250 yuan per square meter in 1992, and in 1994, it transferred 50 acres of land at a price of 250 yuan per square meter. About 120 acres were transferred for 450 yuan, totaling 44,289,000 yuan. This is more than double the 22,077,804 yuan announced by the village before 1995. The data released by the village are used in this article).

From 1992 to 1995, Shacun actually received 27,046,604 yuan in funds from land. The payment of monthly living expenses to villagers began in early 1994 and was stopped in mid-1996 due to the village's lack of money. According to some villagers' estimates, each adult has received about 13,000 yuan from the village since 1992 (excluding compensation for young crops). The current female director of the village committee believes that it is 16,000 yuan. Because the actual situation of financial revenue and expenditure is very sensitive in Sha Village, cadres will avoid the topic of funds. Even the financial management team recommended by the villagers cannot easily check the village's financial accounts. This article can only estimate the village collective The status of fund withdrawals. Based on 16,000 yuan per person and a village population of 1,200 people, old and young, the village allocates about 19.2 million yuan in living expenses to the villagers. The four stone quarries paid a contract payment of 1,789,333 yuan in 1996, accounting for about 56% of the village's total income that year; in 1997, the stone quarries paid 1,587,000 yuan to the village, accounting for about 42% of the village's total income. It can be said that the quarry is the main source of income for Shacun. From the analysis of the public data that can be collected, Sha Village has been unable to make ends meet since at least 1996. The quarry contract fees and other income are basically used to pay for the village's daily affairs and the villagers' public education and medical benefits. Therefore, the amount of funds available for investment held by the village collective is the land acquisition cost minus the allocated amount. Based on the 27,046,604 yuan of land acquisition funds actually received before 1996, the village collective has approximately 7.8466 million yuan of funds available for investment. Adding in the 10.8752 million yuan that has not yet been received, the total is 18.7218 million yuan.

Once you understand this number, you can understand the series of investment behaviors of the Shacun people from 1993 to 1997 after the land expropriation. These investments all rely on the mentality of having strong financial support. In the words of a villager, "there was money in the village at that time."

2. Investment black hole: "The collective has no money"

Shacun was driven by external funds and unknowingly embarked on a dramatic journey to modernization.

Large sums of money came like a dream. The people of Shacun had never seen so much money, and they had no experience in arranging the use of huge sums of money. So, how do people in Shacun use this money? What results were obtained?

From the beginning, the village committee made a big promise to the villagers, proposing that in addition to monthly living expenses, there would also be a housing subsidy of 20 square meters per person. For this purpose, the village committee began to attract investment to build commercial and residential buildings. No one in the village objected. They thought that the road would be smooth in the future. If they had funds and it was time for development, they would definitely make a fortune. Everyone was immersed in becoming rich easily. In their dreams, they did not carefully consider the risks of investment.

The ground floor of the commercial and residential building is designed as independent shops, the second floor is a large shopping mall, and the third to sixth floors are housing. The village committee contracted the project to an out-of-town builder at a price of 760 yuan per square meter. This price was purely the civil construction contract price and did not include filling, water and electricity, design, management and other expenses. To fulfill its promise to the villagers, the village committee must subsidize at least 18.24 million yuan, which is undoubtedly a heavy burden.

Despite the cadres' pledges, the villagers are full of hope. The promise still cannot be fulfilled. When the commercial and residential buildings A and B were completed at the end of 1996, the village committee's finances were already weak and the village committee said, "The collective has no money." It planned to sell the commercial and residential buildings, and the villagers' 20 square meters were wasted. The villagers were in an uproar, but there was nothing they could do.

Although the commercial and residential buildings did not bring general benefits to the villagers, they allowed a small number of villagers to make money easily. When the commercial and residential buildings were first sold, no one in the village showed interest, and the secretary was very anxious. Later, a villager named Cheng Su, who had been doing business outside for many years, returned to the village committee to work and promised to the secretary that all the buildings would be sold within a month. He believes that the commercial and residential building is next to the golf course, has a good environment, and the price is low, so there is no reason why it cannot be sold. Cheng invited some friends from out of town to go around the commercial and residential buildings for a few times, and also walked around the village. When villagers asked about it, he said they were here to buy properties. This trick was so effective that a friend he brought bought a set. When the people in the village heard about it, they came to ask questions one after another. For a time, everyone thought that someone from outside would come to buy a house. The village committee took the opportunity to introduce another policy, encouraging villagers to order commercial housing and only pay for the four floors. The other six floors can be completed after the villagers find out-of-town buyers. Both buildings were quickly booked at a price of 780 yuan per square meter. Except for two or three households of villagers who buy houses, they live in their own homes. Others are looking for buyers outside. These villagers have relatively more contacts with the outside world and have a wide range of people. Most of them have served as cadres in the village or are relatives of cadres. Through Through the introduction of the relationship, the property was resold to guests from Hong Kong, Guangzhou and other places, with an average net profit of 10,000 yuan per property. The village chief's son ordered three sets for resale and sold them all in less than a month, making a profit of more than 30,000 yuan.

Seeing another opportunity to make a fortune, the villagers scrambled to place deposits for the unfinished Building C. However, they had no luck this time and encountered an unfinished building. Building C still has doors and windows uninstalled and has been left there. Villagers said that the village was in arrears with the contractor's payment for the project, and the contractor couldn't bear it and withdrew in 2000. Many of the owners of Building C are out-of-towners who have paid the rent but have not been able to move in for several years. They are very dissatisfied, but there is nothing they can do. The village party secretary also avoided talking about it and didn't pay much attention to it.

The contractor could not get the project money he deserved from the village committee, so he secretly revealed the inside story of building the building to several villagers. He disclosed that on the surface he contracted the project for 760 yuan per square meter, but in fact the village only gave him 500 yuan per square meter, and the project payment is still in arrears. At the beginning of the bidding process for commercial and residential buildings, it was said that the village had tampered with the contracting of commercial and residential buildings, and the actual price was only 500 yuan. All the officials involved were tight-lipped. The accountant and cashier in the finance office were all relatives of the party secretary. The village committee did not allow people from the villagers’ financial management group to audit the accounts, making this legend still mysterious and more likely to be true. The contractor's leaked words confirmed the villagers' suspicions, but no real evidence was available. However, it is an indisputable fact that investment in commercial and residential buildings fails. Buildings A and B spent a total of 6,297,664.20 yuan. Building C has paid 1,506,748.94 yuan, and at least 930,000 yuan is required to settle the bill.

The three buildings have spent 7,804,413.14 yuan, and the total income from the sale of the buildings (including residences and shops) is only 3,859,911.82 yuan. The recovered amount is less than half of the expenditure. Although the second floor of each building is still for sale, it is currently unlikely to be sold because this floor is designed according to a large-area shopping mall. In a village like Shacun that is neither a commercial area nor an entertainment spot, such a design is laughable.

Officials in Shacun attributed the failure of the real estate investment to too late. Whenever they mentioned that the nearby Jincun real estate was booming and the price was as high as 1,200 yuan, they all regretted not seizing the opportunity. It seemed that no one had reflected on the seriousness of investment. On the other hand, a group of villagers felt that real estate should not have been engaged in the first place, but they did not review it from the perspective of investment risks. Most people believed that the real estate business collapsed because of corruption among cadres, and a very small number of people believed that factories should have been invested in the first place.

Another aspect of Shacun that is still controversial is the carpet factory jointly owned by a company in Jiangxi. Within one year from October 1993 to October 1994, *** invested 1,624,669.38 yuan in the carpet factory. One day in 1993, a cadre of the Management Committee brought a boss from Jiangxi to Shacun. The boss expressed his intention to build a joint venture with Shacun. The cadres of Shacun Village Committee, who were eager to attract investment, welcomed him. The boss has a carpet factory in Dongguan. The village committee quickly organized party members to visit the carpet factory in Dongguan. Later, the village committee cadres went to the main factory in Jiangxi to inspect. As soon as they returned, they held a party branch meeting and decided to undertake this project. The contract was signed with Shacun providing the site and funding, and the Jiangxi manufacturer providing technology and workers. There is also a Hong Kong shareholder. The Hong Kong shareholder did not really invest money in the carpet factory. The carpet factory used his name to become a "Sino-foreign joint venture" in order to enjoy more preferential policies. Shacun converted the original assembly hall into a factory and purchased a batch of equipment from Jiangxi. It was only when the equipment arrived that I realized it was old goods. The carpet factory is still in operation and is jointly managed by people sent from Shacun and Jiangxi factories. The village chief and manager of Shacun manages daily affairs, finance and sales, while people from Jiangxi are responsible for producing products. This small semi-handicraft factory soon closed due to poor sales. The money invested is gone without seeing any results. The village spent more than 100,000 yuan in litigation fees with the Jiangxi factory, and eventually scrapped the equipment and materials. After investing more than 1.8 million yuan, only more than 10,000 yuan was left in one year.

Of course the villagers refused to give up when they saw the money disappearing like it was thrown into the water. The financial management team repeatedly requested to audit the accounts, but the village committee repeatedly refused on the grounds that the financial management team did not have the right to audit the accounts. The villagers argued hard, accusing the cadres of "not being afraid of auditing the accounts if they had not done anything illegal." The conflict between the villagers and the cadres became more and more intense. The village committee cadres were afraid that the matter would end badly, so they instructed the finance office to come up with some accounts. The financial management team found that an unclear payment of 380,000 yuan for materials was made to the Jiangxi factory. People from the financial management team claimed that they had never seen this batch of materials and did not understand why they still paid the Jiangxi factory.

In 1993, Shacun established a development company, with the party secretary also serving as the general manager, and other branch committee members also serving as deputy managers and other positions. Several staff members were recruited from party members and villagers to take charge of specific affairs. All expenditures and income of the development company must be signed by the secretary. Commercial and residential buildings are one of the projects that the development company is responsible for. In addition, there are road construction, planning, filling and measuring, etc., which are all the responsibility of the development company. The village invested 940,000 yuan in the development company and raised 313,000 yuan from villagers to purchase a trailer and pile driver.

In 1993, the construction industry was very hot. The village committee believed that the rental prospects of trailers and pile drivers were good, and the development company could also get some projects. In 1994, the economy overheated, the country tightened monetary policy, and the market began to weaken. The construction industry was particularly affected. The rental of trailers and pile drivers in Shacun was greatly affected. At the end of 1996, trailers and pile drivers began to be parked in the open space in front of the village committee, exposed to the sun and rain, and became rusty.

From May 1993 to December 1996, the development company only earned 183,349.16 yuan after breaking even. Over the past few years, *** has paid dividends of 250,000 yuan to the village and villagers. The villagers eventually subsidized part of the losses incurred by the villagers who invested in the company.

Shacun has also opened other small companies such as water and electricity companies, but currently only the development company has survived. The fate of development companies was not much better. Since the stone quarry was closed down in March 2000, the village committee decided to lay off workers, and there are now only two employees working in the development company.

After years of hard work, the investment made by Shacun was all in vain, let alone bringing benefits to the collective and the villagers. What really continues to bring income to Sha Village is the traditional sideline business of the village collective: stone quarries, lychee forests, fish ponds, plus family planning fines and land transfers. The quarry is a highly polluting project, but its annual income accounts for about half of the village's total income. In March 2000, the stone quarry was closed, and the collective economy of Sha Village hit a low point. It was difficult to meet basic welfare expenses. Villagers who participated in the cooperative medical system were still unable to reimburse their medicine expenses after seeing a doctor. Faced with this predicament, the village committee expressed that it would actively find ways to increase income and called on all the people to support the work of the village committee, and the village committee survived the same two or three years. However, the villagers are very skeptical of the village committee's commitment and are not optimistic about the future of the collective economy. The economic crisis in Shacun failed to arouse the collective spirit of the villagers to advance and retreat together. On the contrary, it made the villagers feel that they cannot rely on the collective but must rely on themselves.

There are several unclear private land transactions in Shacun, including 15,085,040 yuan. I don’t know if this money has been received. If it has not been received, I don’t know when this fund, which has been delayed for six years, will be recovered; if it has been collected, then the collective economy will be in name only.

Now we encounter a paradox: the period when reform and opening up introduces market mechanisms and the economy must develop to a new organization and scale happens to be the time when the original collective economy in rural areas disintegrates, and both We cannot use the administrative coercion methods of the past to reorganize the rural economy, and we do not see the prospect that market forces can organize the agricultural economy into a modern collective type. The key is that resources are lost, property rights are blurred, and there is no power to innovate. 3. The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea: The Rich and the Poor Begin to Divide

The villagers do not know exactly which fields the foreign businessmen will compensate for the land expropriation, nor do they know at what price the foreign businessmen will compensate the government. There are rumors in the village that high-quality fields were taken as general land during land acquisition, and there has been no compensation for the forest land taken away from the golf course. Therefore, some unemployed villagers in Sha Village are dissatisfied with foreign businessmen. Although foreign investment in the area where Shacun is located has generally improved the living standards and quality of life of villagers, and about 80% of Shacun’s labor force is employed in foreign-invested projects.

According to the "Preliminary Land Acquisition Agreement" drawn up in 1991 between foreign businessmen and the Municipal Land and Resources Bureau where Shacun is located, foreign businessmen will compensate the villagers at the price of 66,000 yuan per mu for paddy fields, 33,000 yuan per mu for dry land, and 10,000 yuan per mu for mountainous land. According to the Bureau of Land and Resources, compensation includes land compensation, young crop compensation, labor resettlement subsidy, attachment compensation, farmland water conservancy fund raising fee, grain purchase fund, and ration price difference fund. The actual situation is unknown because the information is incomplete. The continuous failure of collective investment has put some people's income in the village into trouble; on the other hand, changes in the economic and social environment have given some people more choices and increased income. In particular, some people have increased their income from “unknown sources” which is not low. The lives of villagers in Shacun gradually become divided between rich and poor. At present, there are rich people in Shacun who are building their ancestral houses worth more than 2 million yuan; there are also poor people who go to the store to borrow food on credit at the end of the month; as long as one of the couple finds a job, they don't have to worry about three meals a day; both couples have jobs. If you do, your life will be smooth and peaceful.