TNAG-2345-FCO40-3412-Future-of-Chinese-Ministry-of-Foreign-Affairs-office-in-Hong-1991 — Page 9

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Mr Riordan HKD

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Reference

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5SEP 197

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1. With reference to my minute to you of 14 August on this subject, I have now looked at the provisions of the Chinese Land Administration Law promulgated in 1986. This makes it clear that land in the PRC is owned publicly, by "the whole people", and that "no units or individuals are permitted to occupy, buy sell or let land or transfer it by other illegal means" (Article 2). Special government departments exist at central and local levels to carry out land administration: "the land administration departments of local people's governments at and above the county level shall be in charge of the unified administration of the land in their respective administrative divisions. The establishment of land administration departments shall be determined by the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government in accordance with actual conditions" (Article 5). This suggests that land management falls under the local government concerned and that outside departments from the centre or other provinces would have to apply through the local land management department for a 'site. The Law also states that: "State owned land may be transferred in accordance with the law for the use of units owned by the whole people or units owned by the collective, and state and collective land may also be transferred in accordance with the law for the use of individuals. Units and individuals are obliged to protect, manage and make rational use of the land transferred to their use" (Article 7). This probably does not get us that much further on. The Land Law seems to apply more to the land itself than to the buildings situated on it. The only reference to payments in the Law comes in respect of compensation to be paid by those units whose land has been requisitioned for construction projects. Chinese people and institutions clearly do pay rent (as does our Embassy in Peking) despite the apparent prohibition on the letting of land in Article 1. Nonetheless the Law's various provisions do suggest that there is no question of state organs simply appropriating land on demand. They have to go through a proper process and apply to the local land administration department.

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RF Wye

Far East Section

Research & Analysis Dept ОАВ 2/124 210 6219/6216 21 August 1991

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