A group of veterans in Shenzhen allied in front of the government build to show their anger to the corrupted government officials this morning. They put their big banners alongside the main street saying the direct of a specific bureau is corrupted, witnesses are wanted and will be protected by the veterans.
It was about 11 am, a group of workers rallied in front of Shenzhen Nanshan Government building presenting a petition to the government for their unpaid wages today. I saw they were standing under the sunshine holding white papers with their petition showing to the passing by passengers.
The demonstration did not last for long, I can not see anyone there at lunch time.
Existing home prices in Shenzhen is very high and it continues to rise in the first quarter of 2013. Meanwhile house prices continue to rise in more cities in China as press reported.
It’s hard to tell where the turning point of China’s housing prices is as the country is so big and the government is behind this. The Chinese government on the one hand wants to make the house price under control, on the other end they do not want to lose the benefits.
Gray-market apartments in Shenzhen has been building and selling very fast in Shenzhen.
PROPERTIES built on collectively owned land in Shenzhen villages are selling quickly and cheaply, Shenzhen Economic Daily reported.
Such apartments in Gray market didn’t go through legal construction procedures or quality checks. They are of high risks for buyers. But they are still favored by buyers because of the prices are generally one-third of market value, or even less. Many people in Shenzhen can not afford for apartments. They have to live in very small apartments or rooms sharing with others. For most citizens, they are forced to buy apartments in nearby cities even they work in Shenzhen, these nearby cities include Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhuhai, etc.
The average price of pre-owned apartments in Shenzhen last week was 25,927 yuan per square meter. In you want to buy houses in Luohu, Futian and Nanshan districts, the price is much higher than the overall price.
In Shiwei Village of Minzhi Subdistrict in Longhua New Area, for example, a resident surnamed Dai was attracted by an apartment selling for 5,500 yuan (US$885) per square meter. But Dai was told the apartment had been sold a week ago, even though the building hasn’t been completed yet.
According to some housing agencies, apartments on collective lands were selling for 4,000 yuan per square meter last December, but the price increased to 5,500 yuan per square meter during the Spring Festival period. A collective-land apartment sold for 7,000 yuan per square meter last August.
In Bantian, Longgang District, some collective-land apartments are selling for 6,280 yuan per square meter if the payment is made all at once, with no loans or mortgage. The simple transactions are completed after buyers transfer money to developers and the two sides sign contracts, which sometimes need a lawyer’s witness statement.
Buyers take significant risks when buying such apartments because these collective-land buildings, strictly speaking, are illegal now. The buildings are allowed to exist in villages largely for historic reasons. The government has made it illegal. Collective land in Shenzhen villages technically changed to State land during two rounds of urbanization in 1992 and 2004, which affected the household registrations of residents in such areas, but property groups such as shareholding companies were allowed to maintain ownership of some properties. Basically the government changed the laws and regulations. Firstly the ownership was taken from farmers or other individuals, then the Collective, now almost all are state owned properties.
I have received a text message yesterday from the Shenzhen government authority informing people to be rational with the Anti-Japanese protests in Shenzhen and stay away from crimes during the protest against Japan. I have heard of the protest marching in Shenzhen yesterday.
Many protesters claimed to be marching in the hopes of forcing the government to take a more aggressive stance against “the Japanese occupation of Diaoyu”. The crowd marched through the Huaqiangbei area in Futian District at about 9:30 a.m., shouting slogans including “Diaoyu Islands Belong to China” and “Protect Our Land and Fishing Rights.” People marched down the streets cheering “Zhong Guo Jia You”, “Come on China” as well as other chants like “Small Japan Get Out” and “China Owns Japan” in Chinese.
The Anti-Japanese protests in Shenzhen appeared to be mostly peaceful. Police said some minor individual offenses occurred during yesterday’s demonstration, which caused some shop stores in the Huaqiangbei area to close temporarily.
The protest also caused Shenzhen traffic police to impose road controls at about 10:50 a.m. on Huaqiang Road North, Shangbu Road, Hongling Road, Shennan Boulevard — between Huafu and Bao’an roads — and Sungang Road.
Shenzhen Metro Co. also suspended service on the Luobao and Shekou lines at the Huaqiang Road, Science Museum, Huaqiang North, Yannan and Grand Theater stations yesterday morning. All metro service were resumed later in the afternoon yesterday.
