What happens in China when you say no to developers

At least the view is good....

Definition of a nail house:

update: ding zi hu (lit. "nail house"): person or household who refuses to move and bargains for unreasonably high compensation when the land is requisitioned for a construction project.

Apparently the woman has been without electricity or water for two years:

On March 19 the China Legal Daily published what it claims is the first interview with the woman who owns the house. Her demand? To be given an apartment in the new building that is going up on the same spot, with comparable square footage to the house she now lives in. This will be impossible, says the developer. According to Chongqing law, says the article, there are three possible ways to compensate owners in this type of situation: 1) provide housing on the same spot; 2) provide housing in another spot; 3) provide a sum of money. The city is only willing to provide Ms. Wu, the resident, with the third option, but she is not willing to accept a sum of money.

Because the two parties cannot come to an agreement, they have not budged since relocation at the site started in September, 2004. although excavation of the worksite is already well underway..."On January 11, 2007, the developer brought an administrative action against Ms. Wu with the department responsible for relocation, the Chongqing Jiulongpo District Housing Management Bureau. The result was a demand for the resident being relocated to voluntarily move within 15 days and to return the house to be demolished by the developer. If the party being relocated does not agree with this ruling he or she can file a suit with the Chongqing Jiulongpo District Court within 3 months or apply for a reconsideration within 60 days from the Chongqing Jiulongpo District Government or the Chongqing Municipal Housing Bureau.

Ms. Wu's response to the Legal Daily reporter: I simply won't accept this mistaken ruling!

The Jiulongpo District Housing Management Bureau says it will apply for a legal ruling to institute forced relocation.

China now is shutting down all media attention and silencing websites:

The owner, 51-year-old restaurateur Yang Wu, has become a folk hero in China for defending his property rights and refusing to surrender, even when his home became an isolated island in a vast excavated pit at a construction site.

But with the Chinese Internet rapidly transforming the case into a national media sensation, the government stepped into the fray this weekend, abruptly banning any further reporting or commenting on the nail house.

The publication ban was disclosed yesterday by China Digital Times, a website at the University of California that has close contacts with China's Internet community. It quoted a source saying that all Chinese web media were given an urgent notice on Saturday to delete all feature pages about the nail house, and to block access to all comments on the case.

Update 4/10: Via Phila at Bouphonia, Kosmograd has more.

Mark Frauenfelder of BoingBoing has a series of pics of people who said no and meant it.