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If There Were No Eminent Domain

David Bodamer March 15th, 2007

An interesting story out of China. Thanks to eminent domain, this kind of thing couldn’t really happen in the U.S.

The villa now stands alone in a 30ft deep man-made pit in Chongqing city, reports Jinbao Daily.

The Chongqing Zhengsheng Real Estate Company wants to turn the area into a £40m ‘Broadway’ square, including apartments and a shopping mall.

But the owner of the villa says he won’t move out unless the company pays his price - the equivalent of £1.3 million.

“The villa owner refuses to move, so the real-estate developer has had to dig out all around it to force him to,” says a saleswoman at Weilian Real Estate Sales Company.

“He wants 20 million yuan, or he’ll stay till the end of the world.”

(Courtesy Boing Boing via Real Estate Bloggers)

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Related Topics: News, Development, Quirky, Retail Real Estate

3 Comments to “If There Were No Eminent Domain”

1. Tish Says:
   

   March 16th, 2007 at 8:16 am

   This story and picture of “China’s Most Incredible Holdout” traveled around China’s blogs and the original story was lost, elaborated on, and then pieced together and rediscovered by Chinese netizens, and finally translated into English by “bridge bloggers.”

   See Ugotrade for a look at this story http://www.ugotrade.com (March 10th, 2007 post), and links to the “bridge blogger” and Chinese stories, if you get a moment.

   The story was investigated and reconstructed again, but ultimately not verified in terms of facts and figures. The power of this picture is that it over rides the specifics!

   And, now the story of “China’s Most Incredible Holdout,” is appearing in Boing Boing and many blogs around the world in yet another incarnation. Very Interesting!

2. Ugotrade Says:
   

   March 22nd, 2007 at 9:45 am

   Check it out! The owner of the China’s “hold out” house has been found! And, a pioneering “bridge blogger” has translated a long interview with him. Nice picture too!

3. Bob Says:
   

   March 23rd, 2007 at 1:09 pm

   Because of eminent domain, the owner of this property would loose their rights.

   Eminent domain promotes the interest of the state over the individual.

   We can all understand the need to expand highways and build schools and jails. If there were another way to do these things without taking personal property, against the will of the owner, then I would be against eminent domain in these situations too. But since there is no other way, we must give up some rights.

   However, to forcibly take someone’s personal property to give to another for profit is immoral and outrageous.

   Eminent domain is tyrant’s. (not a word but you get the point)

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