The newly proposed housing compensation laws protect the interests of businesses and government officials, according to victims of forced demolition. (Sound of Hope)

A new regulation titled Ordinance of House Collection and Compensation on State-Owned Land (Draft For Feedback Collection) was announced on Jan. 29. The Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council is under criticism because people believe that the new laws, rather than preventing unlawful forced demolitions, legalize them.

Liu Feiyue, human rights activist in Hubei Province, pointed out that the regulations now include business-related forced demolitions, providing a legitimate excuse for business development/relocation. "The new regulations are supposed to focus on collecting state lands for the public welfare. Including the business sector is in reality a silent approval for forced demolition due to business needs.” Liu believes house demolition for business needs should be strictly regulated by the market.

Liu also remarked that in an autocratic country like China, the new laws are hard to enforce. "Officials hold absolute power, which makes the execution of the laws impossible. We are concerned that the new regulations will not force the local governments that collude with businesses to give up their vested interests."

Wu Tianli from Beijing thinks the new laws failed to clearly define the public interest. She also believes that the enormous profits in land-sales will make protection of civilians’ rights virtually impossible. "If it is really to protect the people, then, the Ordinance should clearly define what the public interest is and what is crucial to the local economy. If land-sales exist, expropriators will exist, and the illegal demolitions will not end."

The so-called "opinions wanted" is considered another political show by Wu. "Illegal house demolitions have provoked serious outrage among the public, the government wants to quiet it down by asking for the people’s opinions on the issue. I do not think that is really what is wanted."

Chen Qiyong, a victim of forced house demolition in Shanghai, said that the new regulations are protective umbrellas for companies. "[The new law] is the same difference. We are still going to get robbed and the new laws legalize it."

"The government should solve previous problems before making more laws,” said Li Huifang, a petitioner from Shanghai, "The corrupted officials and illegal businesses should return what has been taken from the people and be punished. How many people were imprisoned and tortured trying to protect their houses and lands? They should be redressed."

According to attorney Ni Wenhua, what he calls the unconstitutional Regulation on the Dismantlement of Urban Houses passed by State Council in 2001 is still effective and the number of violent demolitions is still increasing.

Read the original Chinese article.