Shenzhen Businesses Start Chinese New Year Facing Forced Demolitions

A group of shop owners in southern China’s Shenzhen are facing a bleak start to this Year of the Dragon. The shopping complex where their businesses stood is being destroyed. The forced demolition started early Sunday morning, on January 23—the first day of the Lunar New Year.

The three-story oval complex in Longgang district has housed hundreds of businesses for 20 years. Locals say a land developer has been eyeing the prime realty for some time. Shopkeepers have resisted the developer's land grab attempts, but on the eve of the New Year, the developer started the demolition. It was deliberately masked by the sound of firecrackers. Shop owners who tried to stop the crew were met with violence.

[Mr. Yu, Family of Injured Shop Owner]:
"He was injured after a dozen people beat him with steel rods. If no one stopped the beating that night, he wouldn’t be in hospital now…but somewhere else. Still, he was beaten severely. He has broken bones on his body and his head…he’s still undergoing check-ups. It looks like there’s skull damage."

Eyewitnesses say 1000 riot police watched the demolition and the violent beatings but did not intervene and that some police were involved in beating the stallholders.

Locals say authorities had promised them that their shopping complex would be safe for another 20 years. But Sunday’s event has many questioning their involvement.

[Mr. Luo, Shenzhen Resident]:
"We are clear about the ins and outs of this. If the developer did not get permission from the government, it wouldn’t dare to do this…Secondly, the developers are not human beings, they do not reason with you, and would do anything and think it’s normal."

Longgang authorities say they are investigating the forced demolition, and one man has been arrested. But with their livelihoods shattered, shop owners are demanding justice. On Tuesday, a group of them wearing red tops with the words "Petitioning for our Rights" took to the streets. Several were taken away by police, though, according to locals who published photos online.