Sino-American Joint Commission On Rural Reconstruction - The JCRR On The Mainland

The JCRR On The Mainland

After intensive lobbying by Y.C. James Yen, the American Congress included a provision in the China Aid Act of 1948 to fund an independent entity which would take advantage of Yen's experience in the Rural Reconstruction Movement. The JCRR was governed by five commissioners, three of whom were Chinese, appointed by the Chinese government, and two of whom were American, appointed by the American President. On the mainland, during the last days of the Chinese Civil War the JCRR carried out a program of rent reduction, guarantee of tenure security, and formation of cooperatives, in addition to expansion of the agronomic and irrigation programs. By one estimate, this was the largest non-Communist land reform program in China before 1949.