In October, two persons held responsible for the developments in Baitangkou, Tian Jinghua and Liu Baohua, were referred to the municipal public security bureau, which is presently investigating in the case.

In fact, Tian, who is former party branch secretary of Baitangkou village, had earlier in March been sentenced to four years in jail for defalcation; while Liu, former director of Baitangkou village committee, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison under the same charge. However, nothing about land misuse is mentioned in the 11-page judgment.

An official who's experienced in land use supervision claims the job was "extremely difficult", as too many interest groups are involved. "To balance the interests among these groups isn't an easy task. This is the reason why some of our cases are suspended midway," he says.

According to another official from the same administration, two land abuse cases in Tianjin (of which one concerned Baitangkou) involved as many as 94 interest parties.

Planting Factories on Farmland
For the villagers of Baitangkou, life has not changed a bit. "We quit farming long ago... There's no land to farm," says Zhang, an old bicycle repair man. Indeed, many villagers have turned to small businesses, illustrated by the variety of shops open in the village.

Zhang has lived there for more than 60 years, and he once owned land under a contract. There was a pond which produced over 400 jin (200 kilogram) fish in its best year; beside the pond there was a patch of vegetable farm.

Another villager says, "In the past, we harvested 600 to 700 jin of wheat from one mu of land. We didn't need to worry about food. The extra grains could sell for 600 to 700 yuan. For those with a yard for planting vegetables, they earned even more."

But the younger generation of the village has no such memories. Zhang's daughter, who works in one of the village's factories, labors ten hours a day for 15 yuan. If working diligently, she can earn about 500 yuan a month. "Those with some technical skills are paid more than 1,000 yuan," says Zhang.

And of the few that still have farmland, some have leased their land to farmers from other villages.

Baitangkou, located about 10km from Tianjin downtown, is actually considered a rich village in the area. People from other places come to work in its factories. The village is known to these outsiders as having a large-scale industrial park and a favorable management system.

In the office of the village committee, a wall is decorated with little flagged awards for "outstanding performance that read: "Well-off Star Village" and "Pioneer Party Branch". Back in the 1980s, this was a poverty-stricken village with an annual income of 113 yuan per person.