My colleague in the Time Beijing bureau Jodi Xu writes: the media frenzy over the Chongqing “nail house” has highlighted similar cases in other parts of China, and may ultimately encourage other homeowners to also dig in their heels. A similar case in Shanghai (see picture below) ended a week ago after two years of negotiations when house was torn down. Local government officials originally offered an apartment and $250,000 to the husband and wife owners, but they asked for an extra $250,000. A previous attempt by the local government to tear down the house in November 2005 ended with the wife pouring a bucket of gasoline over herself and threatening to set herself on fire. Following that incident, they were left in peace. No one knows how much the couple agreed to take, but a neighbor was quoted by a local paper as saying: “They were happy when they moved out.” If the Chongqing holdouts also win their case, it might be the start of something big…..
