BEIJING, China - In the middle of an eastern Chinese city's new main road,
rising incongruously from a huge circle in the freshly laid pavement, is a
five-story row house with ragged edges. This is the home of the duck farmer who
said "no."
Luo Baogen and his wife are the lone holdouts from a neighborhood that was
demolished to make way for the main thoroughfare heading to a newly built
railway station on the outskirts of the city of Wenling in Zhejiang province.
Dramatic images of Luo's home have circulated widely online in China this
week, becoming the latest symbol of resistance in the frequent standoffs
between Chinese homeowners and local officials accused of offering too little
compensation to vacate neighborhoods for major redevelopment projects.
There's even a name for the buildings that remain standing as their owners
resist development. They are called "nail houses" because the
homeowners refuse to be hammered down.
Nail house families occasionally have resorted to violence. Some homeowners
have even set themselves on fire in protests. Often, they keep 24-hour vigils
because developers will shy away from bulldozing homes when people are inside.
Source: UT San Diego...More...
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