Property dispute holds up rail work in S. China
BEIJING, Dec 19 (Reuters) - A number of rural residents in southern China are refusing to budge from their homes to make way for a railway, forcing more than 1,000 workers to stand down and sparking violence between residents and demolition workers.
Land and property disputes between rural dwellers and state-sponsored projects are rife across China's countryside.
Railway officials complain that increasing troubles acquiring land cheaply are holding back the expansion of the country's railway network.
Police had arrested five "trouble-makers" after a scuffle broke out in Liwan district, near southern Guangdong province's capital, Guangzhou, over a dispute over compensation, the Beijing News said, citing a local media report.
Work on the Liwan district section of the 1,000-km (625-mile) railway link, which would connect Guangzhou with the Yangtze river port of Wuhan in Hubei province, had been held up by 14 rural residents in Liwan, the paper said, citing the construction company.
Although the great majority of other residents had signed compensation agreements, the 14 had remained steadfast and tried to obstruct demolition work on nearby houses, sparking violent clashes between workers and residents, the paper said.
"Because the nail houses keep holding off from signing the agreement, more than 1,000 of our workers and dozens of large machines have been stood down for two weeks," the report quoted an unnamed spokesman from the company as saying.
"Nail houses" is local slang for residents that cling to their homes despite pressure from developers and urban planners.
The railway could miss its opening date in October next year, the spokesman said.
A report on the Liwan district government's website posted last month endorsed the railway company's compensation plan, but urged officials to make "patient communications" to manage the evictions.
Staff at Liwan government departments were unable to provide comment.
Chinese companies and local governments have faced increasing troubles evicting stubborn property-owners in recent years, some of whom have been feted as heroes in media reports. (Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Sugita Katyal)
