CHINA: A lone house amplifies disputes between fast developing China and private property owners' rights and interests

Just a stone's throw away from Shenzhen's stock exchange a home owner is holding onto his little piece of land in the middle of a development zone. Standoffs between developers and home owners holding out for better treatment have become common across China. In China they are called "nail houses" -- houses of stubborn home-owners that refuse to be flattened by the nation's hammer-like development. They are owned by tenacious tenants like Choi Chu-cheung, whose residence sticks up defiantly in the middle of a 10 metre-deep construction lot in southern boomtown Shenzhen. The lot -- just blocks away from the stock exchange -- is levelled and waiting for the next step, the construction of an 88-storey skyscraper. Choi's thoughts on the matter is clearly on display - a red banner hung on the side of his home reads "Private property is protected by the law. How can you rob us?" Choi has refused an offer of more than 5 million yuan (647,500 USD) to move off the land. Such a payment would represent a small fortune in a poor country where demolition crews rarely slow for anyone. But Choi is holding out until he is fairly compensated, he says. In his mind that translates to 14 million yuan (approx. 1,813,000 USD) or property of equal value. "The law says that citizens' private property is protected. Before I agree to move out, this is still my property. How can (the developer) demolish or sell my property before I sign the agreement? They even say "sue me, if you have the ability." This is too barbaric. They behave like barbarians because they have the local authority backing them," said Choi. Standoffs between developers and home owners holding out for better treatment have become common across China. Citizens are increasingly seizing on ideas about human and property rights. "We are the only family left here and looking at the construction everyday makes us feel lonely in a way that we have never experienced before. We also have to deal with the pressure created by the developer and other villagers," said Choi. China in March unveiled a landmark law on property rights that will bolster protection of private assets and stem illegal expropriation. The bill also moves to better protect farmers from land seizures, which have become a major source of unrest in the countryside. But in the cities more nail houses like Choi's are catching the media spotlight - highlighting continuing problems with the definition of "property" in China, and turning stubborn home owners into popular heroes.

ITN Source | April 21, 2007

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