MCLC: highway house

Denton, Kirk denton.2 at osu.edu
Sat Dec 1 11:12:48 EST 2012


MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: highway house
***********************************************************

Source: The Guardian (12/1/12):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/01/chinese-highway-house-demolishe
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Chinese 'highway house' is demolished after owners agree to move
Couple whose plight was revealed after images showing road built around
property went viral, agree compensation deal
By Jonathan Kaiman 

An elderly couple have allowed their house in Wenling, Zhejiang province
to be demolished, after initially refusing.

A Chinese house that became an internet sensation after being left in the
middle of new highway because its elderly owners refused to move out has
been demolished.

Photographs of the house went viral on China's social media websites last
month after 67 year-old duck farmer Luo Baogen and his wife refused to
sign an agreement allowing it to be demolished. This resulted in
authorities building a planned road around the building. As the images
spread around the world, the five-storey building became a symbol of
protest against forced property demolitions, one of China's most pressing
social issues.

Luo voluntarily agreed to leave his home for 260,000 yuan (£26,058) in
compensation, said Chen Xuecai, the chief of Xiayangzhang village, Wenling
city, in the coastal Zhejiang province. "Luo Baogen received dozens of
people from the media every day and his house stands in the centre of the
road. So he decided to demolish the house," Chen added.

Luo had declined the compensation package last week but changed his mind
after meeting local officials on Friday. "Alright, I'm willing to move,"
the China News Network quoted Luo as saying.

Pictures on Chinese news websites show the home being torn down at around
6pm on Friday 
<http://www.chinanews.com/tp/hd2011/2012/12-01/152686.shtml>. It was
declared formally demolished early Saturday.

Dingzihu is the Chinese term for residents that refuse to move during
demolition. The term means "nail house" – a reference to how they stick
out. Nail houses are becoming an increasingly common sight during the
country's rapid urbanisation. All land in China is state-owned, and
residents are typically offered a fraction of their home's original value
in compensation.






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