AP reports on the “nail house” and the implications for the new property law in China:
There are thousands of property disputes in China every year, but this one is getting unusual attention, in part because it is regarded as the first major test of a landmark law guaranteeing private-property rights.
Images of the house have been plastered in newspapers the past week and have been the focus of editorials and cartoons. Discussions have flooded Chinese Internet chat rooms.
Property disputes and illegal land grabs have accelerated in recent years as China’s economy expands at double-digit rates and farmland is gobbled up for industrial parks and skyscrapers.
Government officials often have sided with developers, touching off riots and protests. But it’s unclear what their position is on the dispute in Chongqing or why the standoff has dragged on so long. [Full text]
