Life of Guangzhou - Ongoing Demolition Stirs Anger in Guangdong

A man waves a national flag Tuesday to protest an ongoing demolition of a residential building in Foshan, Guangdong Province where over 50 households refuse to move out.

Fifty-five households are refusing to move out of a residential building that is being torn down in a response to the illegal demolition by a local property developer, the Guangzhou Daily reported Wednesday.

Eight dilapidated buildings in the Zhihuayuan community in Foshan, Guangdong Province are in a dangerous condition after demolition began by the Guangdong Guanyi Group. The local developer has not yet reached a compensation agreement with the residents.

The local construction bureau confirms the developer had applied for a demolition license, but had yet to get it, and so the bureau demanded the company stop tearing down the buildings.

The bureau also said even if and when the company was given the license, it would only be entitled to own the property if it could not reconcile with the remaining households; ownership does not mean it can demolish the buildings on the property.

Angered by the developer's illegal actions, the residents living in the buildings are staying in their apartments to voice their protest despite the potential security problems caused by the demolition.

Some households hang a national flag outside their balconies in a building that is being torn down in Foshan, Guangdong Province to protest the developer's illegal demolition.

A man waves a national flag Tuesday to protest an ongoing demolition of a residential building in Foshan, Guangdong Province where over 50 households refuse to move out.

[More Guangdong and Pan PRD News]