Truly, the last tenement.

[vanshnookenraggen]

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=40673&in_page_id=34&ito=newsnow

Home becomes an 'island' in building row
By DANIEL BATES - Sunday, March 11, 2007
China House
Only one home remains after developers moved in

As far as planning disputes go, it is a far cry from letters of complaint to the council over an unsightly conservatory.

After a row with developers, this family's home has been left perched 12m (40ft) up on its own concrete island.

It all started when they refused to accept compensation to move and, while the row rumbled on, the bulldozers excavated the site around them.

Rumored to have government connections, the family is not expected to be forced out.

But popping to the shops might be a bit difficult. And as for getting the car out of the garage ? well, who knows?

The house is in Chongqing, central China ? the fastest growing urban center in the world, with more than 4million residents.

The boom is fueled by strong economic growth and the 2008 Beijing Olympics. But behind the scenes is a debate, that has been raging for ten years, over the need for a law giving legal protection to private property in a Communist state.

 

[palindrome]

haha wow.

 

[palindrome]

Demolition ends China house row
The home of a Chinese family who defied property developers in a high-profile campaign has been demolished after a deal was reportedly agreed.

The family of Wu Ping, or Stubborn Nail as Chinese media called her, gave up defending the house - isolated in the middle of a huge construction pit.

Ms Wu's family was the only one of 281 in the area who rejected an initial deal to move from the Chongqing site.

Of the reported new deal, Ms Wu said: "I can't talk about that now."

New law

The dispute had lasted three years and became a cause celebre for many Chinese who have tried to fight property developers.

A night watchman at the building site told AFP news agency: "The stubborn nail has been removed."

Ms Wu, when told the house in the south-western city had been demolished, said: "Oh well."

A deadline set by a court ordering her to authorise the demolition ran out last Thursday, and it was not clear what steps the authorities would take next.

Her husband, Yang Wu, stayed in the house until the demolition, hanging out banners reading: "The legal private property of citizens cannot be violated."

China's parliament last week passed a landmark law to boost protection of property rights for individuals.

Accusations of illegal land grabs and corruption have dogged China's fast-paced building expansion.

An onlooker on Monday, Wang Qi, told AFP: "It's just like them to destroy the house in the middle of the night."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/6520317.stm