Nail House
釘子戶 (dīngzǐhù)
Related buzz words:
Violent expropriation of houses/petitioners/black jails/self-immolation

釘子, dingzi, refers to a "nail" in Chinese; 戶, hu, is a "family" or a "household". 釘子戶 refers to a family or individuals who refuse to leave their home that is slated to be expropriated by local governments or developers mainly because of the incredibly low compensation offered by the latter two.

To demolish their houses, developers who have gained approval from local governments will then conduct a forced expropriation, forcing residents to either give up their home or become petitioners. Some nail houses may even commit suicide via self-immolation to protest the demolition. Those who chose to travel to Beijing to petition the government about the injustice may be either sent back to their hometown by the central government or put into "black jails" in Beijing.

The appearance of the "nail house" reflects the increasing social tension created by the government’s pursuit of economic growth at the price of public welfare and Chinese people's happiness and security. Despite the announcement of the revision of the current Expropriation and Management Regulation on Urban Houses which authorizes local governments to dismantle homes without reaching an agreement with their owner, announced by the government at the beginning of this year with the intention of reducing the instance of nail houses, no visible progress has been made.

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