Setback to seniors’ property rights fight

A number of elderly landowners, who have waged a 20-year battle over property rights, faced a setback Thursday when local government confirmed with the Global Times that it intends to build a complex on the location of their demolished courtyards on Beiheyan Dajie, Dongcheng district.

According to a reconstruction proposal approved by the municipal planning commission, Beijing Donghua Real Estate Corporation has been permitted to begin a real estate project at the site on the west side of Beiheyan Dajie, with a total area of 5,716 square meters.

However, the government granted retired professor Ma Xiuming, 79, and some other former residents the ownership certificates for Beiheyan Dajie courtyard No.51 and 55 which were just inside of the site the government approved for reconstruction.　

"What the government is doing now is illegal, since part of the site legally belongs to us," Ma said.　

Ma and her neighbors were forced out of their homes during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), but government gave them certificates of ownership in the 1980s. The area formed part of the ancient Imperial City of Beijing, which surrounded the Forbidden City.

"You still can check our certificates of ownership at the housing administration. It's our right to take back what is ours, but what's more important is that we are protecting the imperial city," Ma claimed.

Since their houses were demolished without their approval in 1992, Ma and her neighbors have been locked in dispute with the local government. Though armed with notarized documents and ownership certificates, Ma's numerous talks with officials and judges never resulted in a reply.

The development proposal shows the area will become a residential community with underground parking. The height of the building will be no more than 10.5 meters.

The municipal planning commission told the Global Times that the proposal abides by the Plan on Protection of the Imperial City of Beijing.

"The approved construction height does not exceed the controlled height in this area," said a faxed reply from the commission to the Global Times' queries.　

However, the 14th article of the plan says that the new building's height must be below nine meters.

The Global Times found that the site has been a trash dump for some time, enclosed by a wall surrounding the site of the former courtyards.

In October, 2010, Ma and 14 other seniors tried to smash the wall, and in April, 2011 they created a "door" in the wall. But in May, 2011 a number of the seniors were injured, allegedly by security guards who tore down a shack the seniors had set up to guard the site.

"As long as I'm alive, I will continue the efforts to protect my rights. We'll use evidence to talk with them," Ma noted.