In recent days, in Pingxiang County, Xingtai City, Hebei Province, a campaign to “demolish illegal constructions and return farmland” has been launched in villages like Yulizhuang and Zhongwei, causing losses of millions or tens of thousands of yuan to local villagers without issuing written notices beforehand.
According to a reporter from Dajiyuan, the county government’s Department of Natural Resources recently conducted a campaign to demolish illegal constructions on farmland, citing the Basic Farmland Satellite Map from 2023 as the basis for the demolitions.
A resident of Yulizhuang village, Ma Yan (pseudonym), revealed to the reporter that before the demolition, homeowners did not receive any written notice, only verbal notification from the village committee. On June 11th, an excavator and unidentified individuals arrived to carry out forced demolitions.
Ma Yan mentioned that half of the villagers, along with their relatives, totaling over a hundred people, gathered in front of their houses to block the demolition team. Some family members even stood on the excavator to protest. They resisted for three days but ultimately chose to give up.
He expressed concern that if they continued to resist, the local government might interfere with the operation of their family-owned factory. “Our family operates a business, and if we don’t comply, the government can cause trouble for us with environmental protection and safety inspections. If we don’t demolish, the factory can’t operate, and it would be the end for us. That’s why we chose to make a big sacrifice for the greater good. If we lose the business, there would be no source of livelihood left.”
Ma Yan disclosed that their newly constructed houses were built using the best materials and were elegantly decorated. They were about to move in, and the total cost of building the house amounted to 1.45 million yuan.
The homeowner, an eight-member family who started from scratch, initially didn’t have the financial means to build a house. Over the years, they managed to save enough money, and the homeowner wanted to fulfill his dream of giving his wife a home. After obtaining approval from the village and township governments last year, they built a two-story house on the land that was later demolished, pouring their efforts into the design and decoration. Unfortunately, within a year, it was reduced to rubble overnight.
Ma Yan mentioned that this was a coordinated action by the county government, and the construction of the houses had not been approved by the county; she also acknowledged that the ancestral land left to them had a small area and they were expanding.
Regarding the demolition of their homes, Ma Yan expressed that they had no choice but to accept it, feeling helpless.
Simultaneously, in the Zhongwei Village of Hegumiao Town, a villager revealed that one family in the village resisted for five days, with all family members standing on the second floor of their half-built house to block the demolition. However, they eventually gave in after the arrival of numerous heavily armed police and unidentified personnel, with some family members being carried away.
The villager stated that a total of four houses were demolished in Zhongwei Village, with each family losing tens of thousands of yuan at least.
Videos of the demolitions surfaced on social media platforms in mainland China, leading many netizens to express regret upon viewing them.
A netizen from Anhui commented, “Give officials 100,000, and they can build the next day; 50,000 or less, they will wait; over 10,000, make a few trips (don’t go empty-handed), and they can build. If they demand five thousand to go back and wait for further instructions, don’t pay a cent, dare to build, and dare to demolish!”
A netizen from Henan remarked, “No need to fuss over farmland or homestead, everyone understands what’s going on.”
A mainland lawyer well-versed in demolition cases, Lawyer Bao, stated that building houses on farmland is not permitted by the state, but village and township governments have the authority to approve such constructions. If there is a demolition due to illegal structures, a written notice must be provided as part of the legal procedure, and villagers have the right to administrative review, litigation, and other processes within a specified timeframe.
Lawyer Bao further added, “Currently, due to the immense power of the government, public security personnel often resort to various means without informing the public. It’s challenging to hold them accountable once they act arbitrarily. Moreover, very few demolition cases are formally filed, and even if they are, courts are often reluctant to take them on. Lawsuits can drag on for years, and it’s a strenuous and time-consuming process where even winning a demolition case in three to five years is considered short.”