Proposal would remove compensation cap for seized land

A draft amendment that may ease long-standing disputes over seized land was submitted to top lawmakers on Dec 24.

The draft proposes removing the cap on compensation for farmers whose land is seized, as well as improving the farmers' social insurance.

It also requires that farmers' living conditions be improved after their land is seized.

Current Land Management Law limits the compensation to no more than 30 times than the average annual output of the land in the past three years.

Song Dahan, director of the State Council Legislative Affairs Office, said land output should not be the solitary factor in determining compensation, but governments should also consider elements such as "location, supply and demand, social and economic development, and the social insurance of landless farmers".

The latest Blue Book of China's Society, published by the Chinese Academy of Social Science on Tuesday, said that almost half of the large protests in China were caused by land disputes.