On April 27, 2006, Zou Tao, a resident in China’s southern city of Shenzhen, started an Internet campaign called “Don’t Buy a House for Three Years.” The campaign spread very quickly to all of China, but the authorities suppressed Zou’s initiative.
On May 11, Zou intended to personally hand an appeal letter to the Chinese premier in Beijing, but was detained for 10 hours by Shenzhen police before he could board his plane at the airport. For days, Zou Tao had no contact with the outside world. Then he appeared in Beijing but refused to comment. During our phone interview with him, his phone repeatedly cut out. [full text]
See also “To buy or not to buy: question for homebuyers” by Xinhua News Agency