Beijing homeowners left with nothing but questions after rural villas demolished
- Development of 170 ‘illegally built’ properties in area 50km north of capital razed to the ground by ‘thugs’, former resident says
- Eviction orders were issued to owners in March by the same authorities that sold them the properties in 2007
The owner of a holiday home in a rural area of Beijing had a horrifying ordeal last week when hordes of demolition workers and armed “thugs” descended on his village and began tearing down his property and those of his 170 neighbours.
The incident at Xitai village in Huairou district – about 50km (30 miles) north of the Chinese capital – began on July 28, according to former resident Sheng Hong.
“I was terrified. I’d never experienced anything like that before,” he said. “The people who rushed in created an atmosphere of terror.”
Sheng said he had owned the property, which he bought for 500,000 yuan (US$72,000), since 2007, but in March received an eviction order from the Jiuduhe township government, which administers the area, saying it was an illegal construction.
The notice – a copy of which was seen by the South China Morning Post – ordered him to “take down this illegal building without condition by March 25, 2020 … [or it will be] demolished in accordance with the law”.