CHINESE authorities have uncovered 32,000 more cases of illegal land grabs during a crackdown on one of the major factors behind rising social unrest across the country, domestic press reported yesterday.

The amount of land unlawfully seized from its rightful owners totaled 233,000 hectares, the Xinhua news agency quoted the Minister of Land and Resources, Xu Shaoshi, as saying Monday.

The land grabs were uncovered during a 100-day operation by the ministry, which is still ongoing, according to Xinhua.

This was in addition to 130,000 cases of illegal land grabs last year, an increase of 17.3 percent from 2005, according to previously released government figures.

The seizures reflect a widespread problem that sees local government authorities collude with businessmen to force people off their property to make way for lucrative developments.

The phenomenon extends from cities to rural areas, with residents kicked out of their homes or off their land for little or no compensation.

“In China, land seizures have even involved local officials who want to boost local governments’ fortunes — or their own,” Xinhua reported.

Reflecting this problem, Xu said around one-fifth of the land that was found to be illegally seized in the latest crackdown was used to build industrial parks.

In his annual parliamentary address in March, Premier Wen Jiabao specifically warned officials against illegal land grabs.

The land seizures have led to much community anger. According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Public Security, there were 87,000 protests across the country in 2005, up 50 percent from two years earlier, many of them over land grabs.

(SD-Agencies)