Despite sub-zero temperatures in Beijing on Tuesday, more than 20 condominium residents gathered on the snow-covered rooftop of their apartment building.
‘We’re here to suntan because it’s too cold in our homes,’ they told the police.
But they did not take off their clothes. Instead, the angry residents of the high-end Huazhan International Condominium unfurled banners that read: ‘Hand over the heating station’ and ‘Give us back our homeland’.
Locked in a longstanding dispute with the management company of their estate, the home owners were protesting over their latest source of dissatisfaction – the company’s refusal to turn on heating nine days after the government’s mandatory date for doing so.
Like Huazhan’s residents, urban home owners across China are showing an increasing willingness to flex their muscles to take control of their estates.
Analysts say this is a sign that the emerging middle class in China is growing in confidence, so much so that they would take measures, legal or otherwise, to protect their property rights.
‘Chinese families spend a lot of money buying these apartments, so they treasure them very much – enough to prompt significant efforts to bring about change,’ said Prof Cui Yihong of Xi’an University of Finance and Economics.
‘If this trend continues, then we could also be witnessing the birth of an independent civil society, because the informal groups they form in the process could be used for other purposes.’
Agreeing, Mr Liu Kun, a lawyer, said: ‘Very often, these are well-educated, affluent Chinese. They know their rights, and they can afford to put in the time and effort to defend them. This could become a test bed for democracy, since residents are getting a first-hand experience of democratic processes, such as electing their own representatives and even protesting.’
When The Straits Times visited Huazhan six days after the protest, Mr Wang Xiaolong, vice-chairman of the owners’ committee, said heating was activated on the day of the incident.
He said that poor service over the past two years had prompted a vote among residents to sack the management company. Rubbish was dumped at the entrance of an apartment block and only three out of nine lifts in the estate were in service, he said. However, the company has ignored the vote for eight months now. Appeals to government officials to act fell on deaf ears, and a court case initiated by the owners is pending.
‘We tried everything but nothing appeared to improve the situation, so the residents decided to act,’ he said.
Said resident Madam Shi Lirong, 80, who took part in the protest: ‘The other protesters advised me not to go up to the rooftop, but I wanted to show my support.’
Huazhan’s protest came just two days after a show of force by condo owners at another Beijing estate over exorbitant parking fees. Local news reports said residents at Tianewan estate blocked traffic for four hours by parking more than 30 cars at the estate’s entrance.
Fifteen of the owners were later arrested on charges of disrupting social order and jailed for five days.
In many cases, the Internet has been the primary mode of communication between residents, prompting analysts to call this another example of China’s burgeoning ‘Internet democracy’.
In the case of Tianewan, residents called for a general meeting via an online forum. Eighty residents turned up for the meeting and chose five representatives to negotiate with the management company. The protest broke out only after both sides failed to reach an agreement.
‘The Internet is becoming a very effective tool for these owners, because it provides a platform for them to exchange information and hold discussions,’ said Prof Hu Xingdou of the Beijing Institute of Technology.
According to government figures, 3.61billion sq m of commercial apartment units have been built in China, housing an estimated 120 million city dwellers. However, the laws governing the management of condos have not caught up with the pace at which the condos are being erected.
A law protecting property rights was passed by the national legislature only in 2007. Since then, democratically elected condo owners’ committees have been struggling to exercise these rights.
‘There is a very complicated web of interests that is preventing the exercise of property rights by owners’ committees,’ said Prof Hu.
Often, management companies buy over corrupt government officials and police officers, ensuring that they can stay in charge even without the approval of the condo owners, he told The Straits Times.
Added Prof Cui: ‘We can only hope that when annoyed owners come out strongly to voice their demands, they are a catalyst for more general reform.’
Source: Straits Times, 20 Nov 2009
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