Thursday Video: China’s “nail house” becomes a rallying point

Every so often, a seemingly trivial individual battle dramatizes something bigger and becomes a focal point for debates about an entire society. That seems to be the case today in China, where the Chongqing "nail house," which Passport noted last week, continues to feed a media frenzy. A debate is raging in China's blogs and ...

Every so often, a seemingly trivial individual battle dramatizes something bigger and becomes a focal point for debates about an entire society. That seems to be the case today in China, where the Chongqing "nail house," which Passport noted last week, continues to feed a media frenzy. A debate is raging in China's blogs and newspapers over every facet of the story: Is the holdout justified? Why was this homeowner able to stay, unlike the others? Property rights and economic development are usually thought to reinforce each other, but here they conflict. Where's the proper balance?

Every so often, a seemingly trivial individual battle dramatizes something bigger and becomes a focal point for debates about an entire society. That seems to be the case today in China, where the Chongqing "nail house," which Passport noted last week, continues to feed a media frenzy. A debate is raging in China's blogs and newspapers over every facet of the story: Is the holdout justified? Why was this homeowner able to stay, unlike the others? Property rights and economic development are usually thought to reinforce each other, but here they conflict. Where's the proper balance?

The episode also demonstrates the power of the media, even in a relatively controlled place like China. There are literally thousands of cases of property rights conflicts far worse than this everyday in China; two people were killed in different protests over land seizures in just the last week. The disputes mostly involve marginalized rural residents, though, and go completely unreported unless there's violence.

The homeowner in Chongqing, however, is tough and media-savvy, orchestrating publicity stunts like sneaking her brother-in-law past guards into the house to plant the Chinese flag. The government seems to have tried to stop coverage of the incident, but evidently gave up in the face of overwhelming interest from the online community. At the very least, its efforts aren't working; the issue is currently a top story on the Party's own People's Daily website and shows up pretty much everywhere else. Someone has even composed a cheesy music video to commemorate the struggle, this week's Thursday Video:

The uproar has provoked a backlash from some in the media who are uncomfortable with the uncritical pack mentality of journalists rushing to sensationalize the event. After all, the woman was probably offered hefty compensation for a pretty lousy shack, and is almost certainly just holding out for a bigger payment; few who hold out against developers are rewarded so handsomely. All of which just goes to show that China's growth will probably be messy and conflicted for a long time still, filled with unexpected developments, and above all, fascinating to watch.

Selected song lyrics after the break.

This is my blood and sweat
My private property
All of sudden it will be demolished
I have seen what happened to others
Now I regret that I kept silence before ….
 
The Property Law just passed
They are still coming to me
Will my fate be homeless on the street? … "

(via China Digital Times)

Tag: China

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