Chapter 34 Chapter 7: Great Responsibility from Heaven—8 The Gospel of Chinese Farmers

Things took a turn for the better in September of this year. On September 25, 1998, on the 20th anniversary of China's reform and opening up, General Secretary Jiang Zemin delivered an important speech on China's agriculture, countryside and farmers in Hefei, Anhui Province. Jiang Zemin pointed out: Respecting practice and respecting the masses is the foothold and fundamental experience we have gained in leading rural reforms in the past two decades, and it is also the principle that we must follow in promoting rural reforms and doing a good job in rural work.We must correctly deal with new things emerging in the countryside and respect farmers' creations and choices.

Regarding the rural reform, he insisted on two points: first, encourage experimentation and not argue; second, adhere to the "three favorable" criteria for judging.In the practice of reform, it is necessary to continuously help the masses to summarize and improve, and to guide them, to persist in what is right, and to correct what is wrong. Jiang Zemin also put forward six major issues regarding the work that should be done well at present and in the future.It specifically pointed out: "Reform and standardize the rural tax and fee system, and explore fundamental solutions to reduce the burden on farmers."

This is the first time that the general secretary of the party has firmly and clearly advocated and encouraged the reform of the rural tax and fee system, asking everyone to "explore fundamental solutions to reduce the burden on farmers." At the end of his speech, he emphasized: "Deepening rural reform is a big article, and I am just pointing out a few questions here. I hope that all localities will continue to boldly explore and practice in accordance with the unified deployment of the central government and proceed from local realities." The general secretary's speech was like a strong spring breeze, which quickly blew from the land of Anhui to all parts of the country, dispelling the doubts and fog that shrouded people's minds.

As a result, the rural tax and fee reform, which seemed to be stagnant and stalemate, gained a huge impetus in an instant, and the pace suddenly accelerated. One month later, on October 27, Minister of Finance Xiang Huaicheng, Minister of Agriculture Chen Yaobang, and Deputy Director Duan Yingbi of the Office of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs wrote to Premier Zhu Jiji on the issue of rural tax and fee reform.They pointed out that China's rural tax and fee reform can be roughly divided into three stages: "plan drafting", "demonstration revision" and "pilot practice". They also reported the general idea of ​​each stage and the implementation time OK.

Since General Secretary Jiang Zemin has clearly put forward the reform of rural taxes and fees as a task of "focusing on it", and many places have already carried out pilot projects in this area in the past, and have gained a lot of valuable and certain experience. Therefore, Zhu Jiji They are dissatisfied with the step-by-step approach proposed by Xiang Huaicheng, Chen Yaobang and Duan Yingbi.He made explicit comments on their material: "The three phases can be carried out alternately, and the implementation time does not have to be delayed until 2000. First, a document is issued, and each province and city can set its own reform time according to the specific situation, and strive for several provinces to issue it next year."

During that time, Zhu Rongji went south for inspection, and during the inspection, he still couldn't forget the tax and fee reform.According to a report by "Guangxi Daily" on October 30, Zhu Rongji pointed out in his conversations in Beihai and Nanning: "One of the reasons for the current corruption is the collection and overall planning of fees in rural areas. Some places use these 'three mentions and five regulations' Fees are used as an excuse to charge various fees. The government complains every year that the money is not enough, and the farmers complain about the heavy burden every day. This matter cannot be delayed, and you should do more research and solve it in a timely manner.”

He also said, "I had a good idea a few years ago. I have been thinking about it for many years. My idea is to include all reasonable charges in the scope of agricultural tax, let village cadres eat 'imperial food', and raise taxes a little bit. It’s ok, and farmers can afford it. Except for the agricultural tax, other charges are illegal. Except for the tax department, no other unit or individual can charge farmers. Whoever collects it is breaking the law. In this way, people who charge indiscriminately can’t find an excuse Now, farmers will be more confident in rejecting arbitrary charges. On this issue, as long as the central government and local governments have a unified thinking and understanding, they can do a good job. This is good for farmers, good for the country, and effective in curbing arbitrary charges. , Improving the relationship between cadres and the masses, and eradicating corruption are of great benefit. Hebei Province has conducted a pilot project for several years, and practice has proved to be good.”

Not long after, Zhu Rongji again issued instructions to Xiang Huaicheng, Chen Yaobang and Duan Yingbi: "According to my conversations with leaders of many provinces and cities, this reform is already mature and does not need to be delayed for such a long time. Of course, the work must be detailed, and there is no need for the central government to stipulate all the details and set a uniform implementation time. In fact, some provinces have already implemented it in some areas. The more leading groups and offices there are, the more difficult it is to do things. The State Council has authorized you to convene which departments need to handle affairs and discuss.”

On December 4th of this year, in the 47th issue of "Authoritative Forum" of "Decision-making Reference" compiled and printed by the Xinhua News Agency Information Center, Zhu Rongji once again mentioned tax reform at the State Council executive meeting. He said: "Hebei Province It has been implemented in one place for several years, adopting the public grain system, all bridges return to bridges, roads return to roads, farmers are not collected from farmers for overall planning, and villages are collected from the agricultural tax, which is very effective.” At the end of this year, the national economic At the working meeting, Zhu Jiji once again talked about the "reform of rural fees and taxes", and said very clearly: "The reform of rural fees and taxes will start in 1999, and the reform in Anhui and Hebei is still good. Keep doing it."

On March 5, 1999, the Second Session of the Ninth National People's Congress was held in Beijing. Premier Zhu Rongji made a solemn promise in the government work report: "Speed ​​up the formulation of a rural fee reform plan and put it into practice to fundamentally solve the burden on farmers. overweight problem." After the meeting, the General Office of the State Council published the "Research Report on Major Policy Issues Concerning Rural Tax and Fee Reform" jointly written by Xiang Huaicheng, Chen Yaobang, and Duan Yingbi in the sixth "Reference Documents" of this year.

At this time, the "Seminar on the Reform Plan of the Public Grain System" in Hebei Province, which had been postponed for more than nine months due to the promulgation of the "Grain Purchase Regulations", was finally held in Shijiazhuang.At the meeting, Zhao Jinduo, deputy secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, gave the fullest affirmation and praise to Yang Wenliang who has been persistently engaged in research on the reform of the public grain system for so many years.He said emotionally: "Comrade Wenliang can be said to be very persistent on this issue. No matter when the reform is going well or when problems and difficulties are encountered, he is always going forward, and he has indeed spent a lot of effort. Especially in the "Food After the introduction of the Acquisition Regulations, he wrote a series of articles. The opinions in these articles are weighty. I think many of the opinions are very convincing and realistic. These articles were sent to Premier Zhu’s Office, The Central Finance Office, the Research Office of the State Council and other units." He Kaiyin, counselor of the Anhui provincial government, as the earliest advocate of this reform, was also invited to Shijiazhuang and gave a special speech. Effective measures to develop agricultural production".His speech aroused great repercussions at the seminar. On May 29, 1999, the General Office of the State Council forwarded to the whole country the "Report on the Inspection of Farmers' Burden Law Enforcement in 1998" by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Supervision, the Ministry of Finance, the State Planning Commission, and the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council. , requiring all provinces and municipalities to "grasp the formulation and implementation of the rural 'fee to tax' program, and actively explore effective ways to fundamentally reduce the burden on farmers." So far, rural tax and fee reform has finally become a hot topic of concern from all walks of life.Everywhere is actively exploring and stepping up the implementation of the tax reform plan to reduce the burden on farmers. A new upsurge of reform is imminent in the rural areas of China! During this period, the "Ban Yue Tan" magazine compiled and published by Xinhua News Agency listed the most representative "three major models" from the dazzling exploration of rural tax and fee reforms across the country. The model of "big contract for the total amount of taxes and fees", the "public grain system" model in Zhengding County, Hebei Province, and the model of changing the "three mentions and five unified" fees to "rural public welfare construction tax" in Wugang City, Hunan Province. On November 13th, Premier Zhu Rongji of the State Council stated in his speech at the Central Economic Work Conference: "We must advance the reform of the rural tax and fee system" and made public the timetable for the advancement: "Next year, the country will first The provinces and regions will carry out pilot projects, and other provinces and regions can also conduct pilot projects in individual counties (cities), and strive to roll them out nationwide in the next year." Now, Zhu Rongji has suddenly accelerated the pace of reform. There is really no reason not to accelerate the pace of this reform experiment.Although the reform pilot plan proposed by Xiang Huaicheng, Chen Yaobang, and Duan Yingbi has not yet been officially released, and we don’t know what opinions the provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have on this pilot plan, and it seems that there is still more than a month before "next year", Zhu Rongji still set the time for "pilot projects in several provinces and regions" to be "next year", and announced at the same time that it only takes about one year for the pilot projects in several provinces and regions to "strive to roll them out nationwide in the next year." Zhu Rongji's determination and confidence are great, and the reform is still the feature of his administration that is vigorously promoted in a stormy manner. However, when the State Council authorized a special leading group composed of Minister of Finance Xiang Huaicheng and others to come up with the "Opinions on the Reform of Rural Taxes and Fees" and distribute the trial plan they prepared to all relevant provinces and autonomous regions across the country, because of this plan It has not gathered the successful experience of the pilot work in various places, and there are obvious policy flaws. The implementation of this plan may reduce the burden on farmers, but the huge fiscal gap in local finances will not be able to fill it.Therefore, except Hui Liangyu, Secretary of the Anhui Provincial Party Committee, who was an expert in this field and seemed confident and confident, the rest of the provinces retreated one after another.However, Hui Liangyu, the only one who persisted in the pilot project, was soon transferred from Anhui to serve as the secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee because of work needs. . However, Zhu Rongji's determination has not changed.As early as a year ago, in his instructions to Minister of Finance Xiang Huaicheng, Minister of Agriculture Chen Yaobang, and Deputy Director Duan Yingbi of the Central Office of Finance and Economics, he pointed out: "The implementation time does not have to be delayed until 2000." Implemented in some areas", "this reform is already mature, so it doesn't have to be so long".Later, at the National Economic Conference, it was clearly stated: "The reform of rural fees and taxes will start in 1999." It can be seen that the timetable he set was repeatedly delayed, and finally it was delayed until 2000, which "doesn't have to be delayed". ! This situation is imminent, and it has to be launched. Reform must be implemented in 2000. This point cannot be shaken in the slightest. Therefore, on March 2, 2000, the central government officially issued the "Notice on the Pilot Work of Rural Tax and Fee Reform". We have noticed that Li Changping, Secretary of the Party Committee of Qipan Township, Jianli County, Hubei Province, wrote a letter to the leaders of the State Council that later caused a sensation throughout the country, reflecting that "farmers are really miserable, the countryside is really poor, and agriculture is really dangerous". February 2nd. This is not only a coincidence, but more like an allusion. It at least shows that the "Notice" issued by the Party Central Committee and the State Council not only complies with public opinion, but is also very timely! The "Notice" pointed out: "The central government has established a pilot reform of rural taxes and fees in Anhui Province. Other provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government may choose a small number of counties (cities) to pilot according to the actual situation. The specific pilot work shall be determined by the party committees of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities 1. The government decides and is responsible, and the pilot program is reported to the central government for record. The national rural tax and fee reform will be gradually rolled out on the basis of the pilot program to find out the situation, accumulate experience." The "Notice" requires: "The central government and state agencies and departments should take the lead in implementing the central government's spirit of rural tax and fee reform, actively support and cooperate with the pilot work. To adapt to the reform requirements, adjust work ideas, working methods and related policies in a timely manner. Adhere to the policy of proceeding from reality and doing according to one's ability, do not do things that can be done, delay things that can be postponed, and never seek career development by sacrificing the interests of farmers." The establishment of Anhui as the only pilot province for tax and fee reform is the greatest trust and encouragement of the Party Central Committee and the State Council for Anhui. Of course, it is also the full affirmation of Anhui's pioneering tax and fee reform and its bold exploration for seven consecutive years. During this period, the Third Session of the Ninth National People's Congress was held in Beijing. When the Anhui Provincial Delegation reviewed the government work report, Premier Zhu Rongji came among the Anhui representatives. He said frankly: "I have always been concerned about agricultural issues. I have considered increasing farmers' income and reducing their burden. This is already the biggest political issue at present, but there are not many ways to come up with it. The only way is to 'reduce the burden'. This is We must make up our minds. 'Fee to tax' is a package project with many unreasonable fees. There are 200 or 300 kinds of fees. I think there is only one kind, which is the agricultural tax. The others are illegal and can no longer be called farming. It’s a disadvantage. This work has been conducted for a year, and some pilot projects have been set up, but until today, only Anhui has not retreated, and now Comrade Liangyu has gone to Jiangsu.” Zhu Rongji looked at Wang Taihua, the new secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and asked, "Are you still working on Taihua?" Wang Taihua knows very well what this reform means.There is no ready-made experience to follow. Anything may happen and any difficulty will happen. However, in order to let hundreds of millions of farmers live a happy and prosperous life, he is still willing to take all risks and face up to difficulties.Perhaps at this moment, he has a lot to say, but he just smiled solemnly and said one word: "Fuck!" Zhu Rongji nodded happily and said, "I should praise you for having such courage!" Then, he pointed out: "This road is very difficult, but also very glorious. Comrade Wan Li's "big contract" in Anhui back then created a history; the significance of today's rural tax and fee reform is no less than the "big contract". We have to recognize the magnitude of this event." Speaking of which, his feelings became complicated.He looked around seriously, and said emotionally: "I am from Nanling, Nanling County is my ancestral home, and I have blood in Anhui. In the history of Anhui, there are exaggerated 'good names'. Of course, there are all over the country, but Anhui has It's more serious. I'm worried that this tax reform will lead to exaggeration. Everyone is afraid of me now, but Anhui people are not afraid, especially the people in Nanling. Today, there is only one way to implement the 'fee reform'. We must work hard, and we must beware of false reports. Farmers' taxes and fees cannot be made too heavy. If I fail this time, I will have to be dismissed." He said with emotion, "For so many years, we have trained a group of cadres who can report. These cadres don't visit the poor and ask the poor, and don't do research and research. Today when we carry out tax reform, we want to tell the truth, talk about achievements, and We must talk about shortcomings and problems. I hope that comrades in Anhui Province will further improve their leadership style and be able to listen to bad words, so that they can do things well.” He finally said: "Comrade Taihua is younger than me, I took the risk for you, but I still sweat for you, because the work of 'fee reform' will be very difficult. I'm going to leave soon, ( I can’t see the result during my tenure, but I hope that the whole province of Anhui will unite and bravely shoulder this burden!” During the meeting of the National People's Congress, Hu Jintao, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and vice president of the country, also came to the delegation of Anhui Province. After carefully listening to everyone's opinions and suggestions on the pilot reform of rural taxes and fees, he kindly said to the representatives from his hometown: "Implementing the reform of rural taxes and fees is a fundamental measure to reduce the burden on farmers. During work, there will be unforeseen circumstances. If Anhui is a pilot project, we must carefully organize, arrange carefully, and proceed step by step." In history, once again, the great mission was assigned to the land of Anhui.A long-awaited by hundreds of millions of farmers, the second great reform in China's rural areas, at the turn of the century, in the birthplace of "big contract", finally kicked off! The sons and daughters of JAC are once again at the forefront!