Zhou,Wangbao: Chinese style demolition violates hu
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Date: 11/13/2010 9:05:12 AM
Sender: Zhou,Wangbao
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Zhou,Wangbao: Chinese style demolition violates human rights and rule of law
周望宝（Zhou,Wangbao）
Accompanied by the big push of urbanization progress in different places in China, scenes of forced demolition turn to “removal drama” of violent demolition and provoke public’s eyes. Daily news always see removal problems, and removal cases always lead to inaction of government and abuse of authority, there are always local officials who don’t care about common people in manners and conducts. In the forced removal and violent removal, individual legal rights of original residents are always brutally trampled. They have nowhere to appeal and nowhere to complain, which lead to casualties, people burn themselves to death, some build bombards to defend themselves, some are buried under excavator, such tragedies show forced demolition is no longer an isolated phenomenon, but becomes a common social problem.
Behind many reports of forced removal reflect trials of various interests. On the surface, local governments want to speed up urbanization and increase GDP, local real estate developers want to obtain lands at the cheapest price earlier, and original residents have to consider whether they can get compensations, the living condition afterwards. But actually, local government and real estate developers have a common interest; development of real estate can increase urbanization, fiscal revenue of government and GDP, local officials are the direct or indirect beneficiary of real estate development. Real estate developers and original citizens have contrast interests, more compensation to original residents means greater costs for developers. The contest becomes conflicts of vulnerable original residents against officials and real estate developers.
Under the banner of urbanization and growth of GDP, according to the “article for management of breaking up houses of city”, government conduct forced and violent demolition under the cloak of legality, the public interest it represented actually represent interests of real estate developers and local officials, when a government only pursues fiscal revenue and high GDP rate, it will contend for profit with people. How can such government serve the people, protect interests of the public, and even maintain justice and fairness of the society? When government and real estate developers have common interests and act in collusion, power becomes a powerful tool for obtaining their interests; with the support of authority, real estate developers are confident and have no fare of sacrificing interests of residents. Here the Constitution grants personal property rights and the right to adequate housing to local residents, and these rights are ruthlessly violated in forced and violent demolition. Judicial justice has become protective umbrella of demolition by government. Though “real right law” has been enacted in China in 2007, when vulnerable house owners maintain their rights with “real right law”, and consult the “article for management of breaking up houses of city”, the plain result can be anticipated. The so-called national laws have to conform to management articles in local government. So, isn’t this contest of power and rights?
In China where power surpasses law, forced and violent demolition is actually violence committed by power, and those demolitions that are in defiance of public opinion actually violate legitimate rights of citizens. The phenomenon of power surpasses law, exertion of authority over law, and violation of human rights and law are because there is no independent judicature. So in China, there is only law without rule of law, only constitution without constitutionalism. To change the situation, and guarantee legitimate rights of citizens, reform of democratic constitutionalism has to be implemented, establish a democratic, free, equal, legal system, and prosperous society in China.
Zhou,Wangbao
11/13/2010
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