The price of demolition in Qingdao
Updated on 01 August 2007
The villagers of Qingdao are losers in China's rapid modernisation and no-one, it seems, is going to help them.
Over the past three months, land disputes involving violent forced evictions have occurred in more than half of China's 31 provinces.
As President Hu Jintao tries to consolidate his hold on power in the run up to the 17th Communist Party Congress in the autumn, and before next year's Olympic Games, his idea of a "harmonious society" is looking ever shakier.
I travelled south east from Beijing to Qingdao (pronounced Ching-dow to rhyme with cow), where the Olympic sailing contests will be held next August.
Villagers there have been using small cameras to chronicle a bitter and violent dispute with the local government over the demolition of their homes.
Once a home, now a symbol of defiance. The banner reads: "Give us our homes back. The district government tore them down illegally."
Soon the village of Xi Wujia will be another neighbourhood of high rises. The pile of rubble had been the home of Wang Shou Jia.
The government in Beijing says it wants a harmonious society but many - if not most - land disputes end up with forced eviction and demolition.
We found Wang in hospital with his 63 year old neighbour Liu Ren Zong. They say their injuries were inflicted by thugs sent by the developers who demolished their houses.
He said: "It hurts inside. I can't eat. It hurts when I take a deep breath."
Last Thursday a busload of men turned up apparently to disperse the people of Xi Wujia so bulldozers could flatten the rubble of their homes. The villagers filmed everything.
Scuffles broke out - some villagers threw rocks - and then the men from the bus laid into whoever they could.
They hit and kicked the villagers, including the women. That's when Wang, Liu and others were injured. Wang was loaded into an ambulance and taken to hospital. His son suffered a fractured skull and broken fingers.
'They never notify us before they come to destroy our houses. They just show up with police and city management officials. They hire thugs to surround us and use water cannon to force us out.'Lin Xing Huo
On any given day across China there are dozens, or even hundreds of protests like this and most of them are about land. People hate being cast out of their homes more than anything else.
The government in Beijing says it wants a harmonious society but many - if not most - land disputes end up like this, with forced eviction and demolition.
Many villagers were laid off by state-run factories and the land on which they live is state-owned. As China's moved from communism to capitalism, they've lost everything - while the developers are making huge profits.
Lin Xing Huo says: "They never notify us before they come to destroy our houses. They just show up with police and city management officials. They hire thugs to surround us and use water cannon to force us out."
'I didn't even know when they tore down our house. Everything in the house is gone. They didn't give us money to rent a place to stay.'Lu Hongyuan
They came to evict people from the neighbouring village of Cuofu Ling on 19 June. Power and water had already been cut. Government officials were accompanied by men in uniform as the houses were demolished.
When we met the villagers in one of the few houses left standing, they explained that the developers had told them each family would eventually be given a small flat - but not for two years. It wasn't clear where they should go in the interim.
Lu Hongyuan says: "I didn't even know when they tore down our house. Everything in the house is gone. They didn't give us money to rent a place to stay."
Yo Yongli says: "Four or five men in camouflage uniforms took me by the arms and dragged me out of our house after forcing open the door. I asked them for their ID and official papers. They said nothing and threw us out."
No satisfaction
On 7 July they gathered for a hearing about their case but got no satisfaction from the district government.
Ten days later, government officials pinned eviction notices on their doors. The villagers followed the delegation around. The official said: "Your filming is useless."
The villagers went to the developers' office expecting government arbitration, but the developer threw them out saying he knew of no such meeting.
We too went to the developers' office. As we filmed discreetly, the man in charge said they wouldn't offer the villagers a better deal because they had government backing - then he told us to stop filming.
So we went to the District Government Office where - again filming discreetly - we were met by a phalanx of officials in a conference room.
'Power is above everything. Money can buy power. Power can buy laws. They're all connected. The court allows them.'Mr Liu
Funing Jia, the deputy governer, said: "It was a very small number of people who brought up unrealistic and unreasonable demands.
"To protect the interests of the majority, the developer applied to the government for arbitration. The government ordered forced eviction according to the relevant rules and regulations."
The villagers may have carefully documented their case but they haven't been able to stop the demolition. Their houses are gone, they'll get little or no compensation and the day after we left, one of the village leaders was arrested.
Back in hospital, Mr Wang and Mr Liu are recovering from their beating. Mr Liu - who used to be a government legal officer - is bitter.
He says: "Power is above everything. Money can buy power. Power can buy laws. They're all connected. The court allows them. The police take part in the forced demolition. The government gives direct command. It's all about profits, about making money."
People like these have no power and no money. If they were given adequate compensation they'd accept being moved. But they're the losers in China's rapid modernisation and no-one, it seems, is going to help them.
