Holdouts facing eviction from site of University City demand more damages
Villagers facing eviction to make way for Guangzhou's University City on Xiaoguwei Island are again taking their case to Beijing after the local government refused to agree to their compensation demands.
'We are not the type to protest but they have violated our rights,' said Zhao Yaodong , who is in the construction business. 'They did not consult us ... they have behaved like thugs, like political bullies.'
Thirty inhabitants of the so-called 'artists' village' flew to Beijing on Tuesday to bring their complaints to the Construction Ministry and the major media.
They also went to the capital in November and wrote letters to Premier Wen Jiabao , Guangdong party boss Zhang Dejiang and Governor Huang Huahua .
Despite that effort, one house was demolished on July 9 before agreement on compensation was reached, the villagers claimed. Another batch of houses is scheduled to be torn down early next month. The land is needed to make way for a road to the university and to strengthen a dyke.