Subscribe to one of our news e-mail lists . Jiang's grip on power may decide pace of China reforms Yet in year-end reviews of the internal situation, the Communist Party leadership has singled out rural unrest as the biggest threat to its rule.
Rural stability is key to the stability of the entire nation.
One of the PAP's main functions is the quell unrest in rural and urban areas. The basic root of discontent on the farm is unrelieved poverty. This was despite express orders that Beijing gave to agricultural and rural officials last year to raise rural income by at least 4 per cent. Per capita income in the countryside is about 2,200 yuan a year, compared to that of close to 12,000 yuan in the big cities. Moreover, while an estimated 95 per cent of workers laid off from state factories are entitled to subsistence-level living subsidies, peasants are not covered by any security net.