Should I stay, or should I go?

• Source: Global Times
• [09:13 June 02 2010]
• Comments

Zhou Ningning, a shop assistant at Xu Dajin’s grocery store, sits next to a pile of uncleared rubble Tuesday. A gang of men attacked the shop in Zhaohang village earlier this month as disputes over the relocation of villagers to make room for Shanghai Disneyland continue. Photo: Chen Xiaoru

By Shen Weihuang and Chen Xiaoru

Dozens of small business owners who rented property in Zhaohang village of eastern Pudong New Area are living in fear after being threatened to move out and make room for the construction of Shanghai Disneyland, which is slated to commence at the end of the month.

The remaining 10 households in the village, accounting for nearly 7 percent of the settlement, have been given the message from a local government-commissioned relocation company that they will be physically forced out of their homes at the stroke of midnight tonight, frightened residents told the Global Times Tuesday.

"We were told that a demolition squad made up of tough guys will come and destroy our homes when the clock strikes twelve tomorrow night," said Pan Shengmei, owner of a clothing store in the village. "They also said all the roads within a 5-kilometer distance of our village will be blocked off so that nobody will be able to help us."

Pan said that this latest threat has made her and the rest of the villagers, who have not been offered fair compensa-tion for a relocation, too afraid to go to the police despite the fact that the State Council said last Tuesday that local governments and organizations are not authorized to force residents out before they receive proper compensation.

According to Pan, she has signed a contract with her landlord, which entitles her to 50,000 yuan ($7,331) in compensation for relocating.

The landlords, which own the homes, have been given new apartments and cash in compensation.

"The problem is that my landlord said she doesn't have the money to pay us now, and the relocation company said we have to move immediately," said Pan. "But I can't leave until we get paid, or I may never see any of that money."

Pan said that her landlord sympathized with her situation, and even refused to cut her power and water after the relocation company told her landlord to do so in order to encourage Pan and her family to leave.

The remaining villagers are also worried about what their fate will be, as they, too, said they have been terrorized by a series of events over the past month.

Just down the road from Pan lives Xu Dajin, who runs a grocery store on the main street in the village.

Xu, who has also failed to collect any compensation for a relocation, said that his family early this month received a warning from a man who was allegedly dispatched from the relocation company, saying that the family better be gone within the next 10 days.

Not even a week later on the evening of May 12, his store was attacked by a bunch of "gangsters," according to Xu.

"A minivan which had a plate that was blocked by plaster stopped right in front of the store after dark and a group of six men wearing masks got out and smashed all the glass counters in our store before leaving," said Xu.

On a hunch that the men were tied to the relocation company, Xu said he reported the incident to local governments, including village officials and Pudong district officials.

"But they all told us to go to the relocation company to solve the problem," said Xu. "The person we spoke with from the relocation company who was in charge of the area that includes our store kind of admitted to us that the incident had something to do with the demolishing project."

The relocation company, Pudong Real Estate Group, is authorized by the Urban and Rural Construction and Transportation Commission of Pudong New Area to take up the task of clearing the area for the Disneyland project.

When the Global Times reached the official who oversees the area covering Xu's store Tuesday, the man surnamed Pan said they were concerned about the incident, but denied that gangsters were sent to shake things up.

"There is no evidence pointing to the fact that we had anything to do with the incident," he said. "Xu and his family should be careful about what they say."

Xu said he is legally entitled to stay on his 120-square-meter plot of land until 2016, so long as he keeps up with his monthly rent of 2,200 yuan ($322), according to the contract signed with his landlord.

But according to Pan the official, the relocation company has already accounted for Xu's compensation, and has paid the fees to his landlord.

"But my landlord is unwilling to give us any money, and the relocation company is also refusing, so I have no idea who I can turn to," said Xu.

According to Zhou Binrong, a lawyer at a local law firm, the relocation company can be held accountable for providing Xu with a new home.

"The current regulation clearly states that if the renter and the landlord cannot reach an agreement, the relocation company has to arrange a home for the renter," he said.

Meanwhile, the issue of whether relocation compensation should approached from a public interest or business standpoint is fueling public debate as villagers feel increasing pressure to abandon their homes.

"It's really hard to identify whether a project like this should be deemed for public interest or a business purpose," Hua Wei, director of the Property Research Center at Fudan University told the Global Times. "The problem is the value is linked to whichever will benefit more."

"Shanghai Disneyland will surely lead to the economic development of the 26-square-kilometer town of Chuangsha, where it will be situated, and that will no doubt increase job and business opportunities in the area, so it can be argued that the project will help public interests," he added.

The villagers, however, do not see it that way. They argue that the business project is intentionally being disguised as one for public interest so that the relocation company can get away with offering them weak or no compensation.

Some villagers have received as little as 1,350 yuan ($197) per square meter in compensation, but if their relocation were to be defined as a move in the interest of business, the residents would get at least 2,000 yuan per square meter, according to the current relocation regulations.

According to Pudong construction authority, a new residential area for relocated home owners will be complete by 2012. It will cover 324,000 square meters and comprise over 6,500 apartments.