In Sanya, began the demolition of Phoenix Village (Fenghuang Town), a large slum on the outskirts of Sanya, in the tropical island of Hainan, leaving many villagers homeless.
“Why the government has decided to demolish the area before the Spring Festival?”, “Are the demolitions legal?”, “Where will the families go?”. Many questions of this kind have begun to appear on the Chinese net following the publication of an article entitled “New Year’s visit to the largest slum in Sanya”. Demolitions started on January 19; people mainly come from the district Danzhou of Hainan and are farmers or pig farmers. Residents, therefore, accused city authorities to carry out demolition illegally. But the city council said that in 2010 were sent at least three warnings.
According to city officials, many houses were abusive and materials used highly flammable. However, the major concerns of Chinese netizens are the timing (“why they destroy the village before the Chinese New Year”) and the future destiny of the inhabitants. In 2010 local government had decided to revolutionize the area and to dismantle the crumbling buildings.
Related article: the fate of an urban village in China
Demolition of a Chinese slum
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