In a small piece of land surrounded by five highway ramps in Guangzhou, Guangdong, stands an eight-story tall yellow building that seems to be out of place with its surroundings. What has added to its strangeness is that there is only one family who currently lives there.
The building should have been demolished several years ago so that the place can be turned into a lawn to add some beauty to the traffic hub. But it still hasn't happened as this family has refused to move out.
Meng Lixia and the other six members of her family have held out here since the start of the construction of a traffic tunnel near her building in late 2008. For the first several years, they had fought for compensation from construction companies along with other households in the building. As the other families made their deals and moved out one by one, Meng's family has become the most stubborn nail households in the city.
Since the construction could still be done without getting rid of the building, the local developer did not resort to extreme practices to drive out the family. The building still has water, electricity and phone connections, but has no access to cable services.
The family failed to reach a deal with the developer over compensation while the construction was underway and then they were left alone. Now, as the tunnel has been finished and put to use, the family is being put in a more disadvantageous position in negotiations for compensation. What's worse is that now they even don't know with whom they should bargain.
With the completion of the tunnel, the administration responsible for negotiating a deal with the family has backed out and no longer contacts them. The family has tried to reach out to the various offices related to issue, but has been ignored.
So the family is in a dilemma right now: move out or hold out? Leaving the building won't get them more compensation, if any. Staying behind does not seem to be a better choice either. With no compensation in sight, the seven family members will continue and try to get by in a space of only about 30 square meters. It will still be a long and uphill battle if they want to get the compensation they want.
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