Forcible eviction sparks outcry over property rights
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The death of an old man who set himself on fire to protest against the demolition of a home in east China's Jiangxi Province has sparked public anger and outcry over long-awaited revisions to existing laws to better protect private property.
Ye Zhongcheng, 79, died Saturday morning, eight days after he doused himself in petrol while confronting workers who planned to demolish the three-story house of his friend's family in Fenggang Township, Yihuang County of Fuzhou City on Sept. 10.
The house, built in 1999, was owned by a family surnamed Zhong but was ordered to be demolished to make way for a bus terminal. Owners of 20 of all 21 homes in the area had accepted compensation and moved but the Zhong's demanded 3 million yuan in compensation, six times the 400,000-yuan offer made by the government-backed development company.
The Zhong's said their demand was in line with the market price.
Compensation has long been at the core of demolition disputes in China, where land is owned by the state.
Amid heated exchanges, Ye, a close friend of the Zhong family, climbed to the top of the building with Zhong Ruqin and Luo Zhifeng, Zhong's mother, and set themselves alight. Zhong and Luo were seriously injured.
The tragedy was widely reported on the Internet over the past week, with text, photos and video of the scene being posted by surviving members of the Zhong family and witnesses on microblogs.
The local government announced on Saturday that eight officials had been removed from their posts or placed under investigation over the property row.
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