Rare protest staged against officials in Shanghai

SHANGHAI -- More than 100 people staged a rare and short-lived protest in the center of China's largest city Tuesday morning, decrying a wave of forced evictions by local officials and developers working in concert to clear prime urban land for lucrative real estate ventures.

As people gathered Tuesday in People's Square -- an oft-used venue for violent demonstrations during the Cultural Revolution -- uniformed police swept in and broke up the protest, detaining 35 participants, Reuters reported.

Police then took the demonstrators into an adjacent government building for what city officials later characterized as "discussions." Meanwhile, plainclothes police shoved onlookers away from the municipal headquarters and the square, ending the spectacle.

An official at the Shanghai Municipal Government Press office who gave his name as Chen said no one was arrested and denied that any demonstration had taken place. "These people only wanted to talk to the government," he said. But a police officer at the Shimen Second Road station near People's Square who refused to provide his name told The Washington Post that an unspecified number of people had been taken there. All were allowed to leave by nightfall, he said.

One protester, Wang Lin, said she was released without charges after eight hours in detention in a police station in the Changning district. She said she joined the protest because the Changning district government demolished her house in 1999 and promised to provide a new apartment but has yet to follow through.

"I don't care about politics," she said. "All I want is a home. They robbed my property."

By global standards, Tuesday morning's demonstration was a tame affair: A mostly elderly crowd sat down on a greenbelt near city hall, then remained there silently, holding documents related to disputes over compensation for homes that have been razed to make way for new developments. Still, the sight of dozens of people coalescing in a conspicuous place to openly criticize the government underscored the growing resentment as the refashioning of China's commercial capital rolls on.

The charged atmosphere has grown more tense in recent weeks with disclosures surrounding a banking scandal involving Shanghai's wealthiest real estate magnate. Zhou Zhengyi is now under house arrest in connection with a $270 million loan he received last year from the Bank of China in Hong Kong. But also at issue, according to Chinese press reports, is a huge development he is erecting in partnership with Shanghai officials in the central Jingan district.

Documents seen by The Post show that Zhou's company received at least one of the eight parcels he is developing there without paying a transfer fee. Residents, citing local code, say this obligates Zhou to provide them with new, affordable homes. Dissatisfied with the proposed compensation, several families on the site have filed a class-action lawsuit representing more than 2,000 would-be displaced residents. Earlier this month, Shanghai police arrested their lawyer, Zheng Anchuan, who remained in detention Tuesday night, according to his family.

In a sign that the city is growing concerned about public anger over the unsavory ways of the local real estate boom, officials last week promised to crack down on associated corruption while probing more than two years' worth of lending related to development.

But the people who took the square Tuesday have not been placated. Many are frustrated by what they say as a local government working in cahoots with developers against their interests.

Wang, the arrested protester, said she had already tried to communicate with officials in Beijing about the loss of her home, but they referred her back to the Shanghai government. In recent months, she has found herself the subject of round-the-clock scrutiny from local police. Tuesday's demonstration represented her only means of calling attention to her situation, Wang said.

"Who is going to solve my problem?" she said. "The legal system doesn't work here. There is no place for us to speak."