In October of last year, Beijing’s Changping District government announced its intention to demolish more than 3,000 villas and courtyards in Xiangtang Village, sparking widespread concern. A year later, some web videos show that the authorities have sent a large police force to Xiangtang Village, and the local court has recently issued a deadline for the demolition of the village, which is on the verge of an imminent demolition.
A web video posted on Saturday shows a large number of police forces and unidentified “men in black” moving into Xiangtang Village in CuiCun Township, ChangPing District, Beijing, in an attempt to intimidate local property owners before the demolition operation is officially launched.
“Residents: which unit are you from? Take out your work permit.
Law enforcement officer: what right do you have to shoot this?
Man in Black: You can’t shoot me personally, understand? You’re pointing a cell phone at me, and it’s not working. Can’t you hear me?
Residents: Which unit are you from?
Man in Black: What do you care which unit I’m from? This is where I’m walking.”
The authorities are going to do it?
As we reported earlier, last October, CuiCun Township in ChangPing District issued a notice saying that the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources (BPCNR) had determined that more than 30,000 square meters of floor space in the ten districts of Xiangtang Village had not obtained a permit in accordance with the law, and that it was illegal construction. Already at that time, thousands of local property owners blocked the town government, demanding an explanation.
More than a year has passed, and Beijing has entered the winter season again, with nighttime outdoor temperatures approaching ten degrees below zero. Just a few days ago, it was rumored that the local government was about to launch a campaign to demolish more than 3,800 villas and courtyards in Xiangtang Village, involving tens of thousands of people. A photo on Twitter titled “Beijing Changping District People’s Court Demolition Notice” shows that the Beijing Municipal Planning Commission’s Changping Sub-Bureau applied to the local court at the end of last month to enforce the relevant “Administrative Punishment Decision”. The announcement states that the Xiangtang Village Committee and the “illegal construction users,” i.e., local owners, must demolish the illegal construction within seven days from December 2, when the announcement is posted, or else it will be enforced according to the law. This means that Wednesday will be the deadline for villagers to demolish the building on their own, and then the demolition action may be imminent. Our reporter was unable to find the Administrative Penalty Decision on the official website.
The owner argues
Internet videos show that, over the past few days, many Shantang Village property owners have confronted local government officials about the legal basis for the demolition, but authorities have refused to respond directly.
In one video, several government officials and one homeowner turn around and walk away without a word.
“Owner One: When I bought this house, you CuiCunTown and XiangTang Village gave me your stamp and stamp duty, so why is it now illegal for me?
(The sound of an officer giving the order to leave is heard behind)
Homeowner 1: I’m a homeowner, so you’re leaving without talking to me, right?”
Another owner spoke to a large group of officials about logic.
“Owner 2: The Big Red Book (the title to the house) was also issued to me by the government, and I’m trying to figure out if this is a government. If it is a government, then let’s sit down and talk, but you have to admit this first.”
Our reporter contacted a homeowner in Shantang Village on Tuesday, but he said he was not available for an interview. The reporter was unable to independently verify the current situation on the ground.
Just the tip of the iceberg
Economist Sheng Hong, former director of the Tianze Institute of Economics, an independent think tank in Beijing, posted an article on the Internet expressing his strong concern about the Xiangtang demolition. He told us that since last year, the Beijing municipal government has been demolishing a series of villa projects, and that Xiangtang Village is only the tip of the iceberg of this special operation, but it is also “the hardest bone to grind.
“Shantang Village is the most influential, the most famous, the largest and the most populous. The reason the Shantang incident has caused more uproar is because it involves more people.”
As we reported earlier, the “Water Great Wall Old Beijing Courtyard” in Beijing’s Huairou District was demolished a few months ago, and Sheng Hong is one of its owners. Sheng Hong, one of the owners of the compound, said in an article Monday that Changping authorities recently demolished the building in Xiangtang Village, the same way they had demolished his compound in Huairou, because both refused to show the owner the relevant “administrative ruling. He argues that the government officials were ambiguous because they knew it was a crime, but neither wanted to disobey the wrong order nor wanted to be held legally responsible later.
Sheng Hong also writes that he understands that at least one-third of Xiangtang Village’s homeowners live in their only shelter, and that it would be an unprecedented “humanitarian disaster” if they were to be left homeless this winter.
It is reported that Xiangtang Cultural New Village built thousands of villas and courtyard houses more than a decade ago, and has since become known as a model village, by giving out land to build rough housing and then improving the housing financed by the foreign population. But what the owners didn’t expect was that the purchase agreement, which was stamped with the official seal of the village and town governments, would now be a dead letter, and that the property they had purchased at great expense would be deemed “illegally built” and need to be demolished.
Hua Po, a Beijing-based political commentator, said the Shantang case once again reflects the Chinese government’s lack of contractual spirit.
“In the beginning, the local government wanted to attract investment, sell land, and build houses, but of course many things happened during this round of operation that are now considered illegal, legal and unreasonable, but Xiangtang Village could not be built without the consent and encouragement of the local government,” he said.
When asked if there is any chance of a turnaround in the Xiangtang case, Hua Po said that although most of the owners of Xiangtang Village, who are middle class or above, reacted strongly to the demolition plan, they will not be able to overcome “public power” in the end. In his words, “Even the biggest mole cricket is just a mole cricket.”
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