Bid to stop subway works is latest sign of public’s resistance to controversial projects
By The Straits Times China Bureau 07 February 2010
Beijing - Nearly 200 condominium residents clashed with police here yesterday in a valiant effort to stop the construction of a subway line near their estate.
At least five people were detained in the two-hour confrontation amid sub-zero temperatures in western Beijing. It was yet another instance of growing urban middle-class resistance to the construction of controversial public projects in China, as the well-heeled seek to protect their properties and families.
What started out as a peaceful demonstration quickly boiled over as residents of Yiyuanju condo stormed the subway construction site, just 50m from their home, in a desperate bid to block the excavation work.
‘How can they start building when our petition to the government is still being considered?’ asked retiree Dong Guoguang, 64.
He told The Sunday Times that harmful gases from the proposed ventilation chamber of the subway will endanger the health of condo residents. The construction work might also render their homes structurally unsafe.
‘When officials force us ordinary folk to rebel, we have no choice but to rebel,’ Mr. Dong said.
The incident is the latest in a series of ‘not in my backyard’ protests in recent years by wealthy city dwellers, who refuse to tolerate the erection of contentious public works near residential areas.
More lower-income Chinese are also challenging the authorities and private developers, just so they can keep their homes.
Shanghai residents succeeded in halting the extension of a magnetic levitation train line two years ago, after thousands protested over possible health risks. In southern Guangzhou, a public demonstration last November by 1,000 residents saw officials shelving plans for a new garbage incinerator.
‘Many of these protests arise because government officials fail to communicate with residents early on,’ commented Beijing-based lawyer Liu Kun, who specialises in condo-related disputes. ‘They take a bureaucratic attitude, and think that residents have no say just because the construction is taking place on government land.’
Yiyuanju’s residents were determined to have a say, not least to protect their prized assets in Beijing’s red-hot property market. A two-room apartment at the condo costs more than two million yuan (S$414,000).
Undaunted by the phalanx of young migrant workers guarding the site, protesters forced their way in. Some ordered a crane operator to stop work. Others approached workers and asked for their boss.
The rest looked on, recording the tussle on their Sony Handy-cams and iPhones. Scuffles broke out when a few plainclothes policemen arrived and called for order.
Two protesters fell to the ground. One of them, a woman in her 70s, fainted and was taken to hospital. Order was restored only when eight vans carrying more than 50 policemen arrived on the scene.
They arrested at least five protesters on charges of ‘disrupting public order’. The residents said they are not giving up.
‘We will continue to petition and possibly do another demonstration. But right now, it seems like no one is listening,’ said Mr. Dong.
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Beijing condo residents battle police
Bid to stop subway works is latest sign of public’s resistance to controversial projects
By The Straits Times China Bureau
07 February 2010
Beijing - Nearly 200 condominium residents clashed with police here yesterday in a valiant effort to stop the construction of a subway line near their estate.
At least five people were detained in the two-hour confrontation amid sub-zero temperatures in western Beijing. It was yet another instance of growing urban middle-class resistance to the construction of controversial public projects in China, as the well-heeled seek to protect their properties and families.
What started out as a peaceful demonstration quickly boiled over as residents of Yiyuanju condo stormed the subway construction site, just 50m from their home, in a desperate bid to block the excavation work.
‘How can they start building when our petition to the government is still being considered?’ asked retiree Dong Guoguang, 64.
He told The Sunday Times that harmful gases from the proposed ventilation chamber of the subway will endanger the health of condo residents. The construction work might also render their homes structurally unsafe.
‘When officials force us ordinary folk to rebel, we have no choice but to rebel,’ Mr. Dong said.
The incident is the latest in a series of ‘not in my backyard’ protests in recent years by wealthy city dwellers, who refuse to tolerate the erection of contentious public works near residential areas.
More lower-income Chinese are also challenging the authorities and private developers, just so they can keep their homes.
Shanghai residents succeeded in halting the extension of a magnetic levitation train line two years ago, after thousands protested over possible health risks. In southern Guangzhou, a public demonstration last November by 1,000 residents saw officials shelving plans for a new garbage incinerator.
‘Many of these protests arise because government officials fail to communicate with residents early on,’ commented Beijing-based lawyer Liu Kun, who specialises in condo-related disputes. ‘They take a bureaucratic attitude, and think that residents have no say just because the construction is taking place on government land.’
Yiyuanju’s residents were determined to have a say, not least to protect their prized assets in Beijing’s red-hot property market. A two-room apartment at the condo costs more than two million yuan (S$414,000).
Undaunted by the phalanx of young migrant workers guarding the site, protesters forced their way in. Some ordered a crane operator to stop work. Others approached workers and asked for their boss.
The rest looked on, recording the tussle on their Sony Handy-cams and iPhones. Scuffles broke out when a few plainclothes policemen arrived and called for order.
Two protesters fell to the ground. One of them, a woman in her 70s, fainted and was taken to hospital. Order was restored only when eight vans carrying more than 50 policemen arrived on the scene.
They arrested at least five protesters on charges of ‘disrupting public order’. The residents said they are not giving up.
‘We will continue to petition and possibly do another demonstration. But right now, it seems like no one is listening,’ said Mr. Dong.
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