Society

Residents feel exposed by city's order

By Yan jie in Beijing and Guo Anfei in Yunnan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-19 11:55

Yan, a government employee in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, says his wife paid more than 700 yuan ($100) this week to get a protruding balcony cage outside the window of their bedroom removed.

The worker, who declined to give his full name, said the couple feared the metal bars over their window, fitted to keep their home safe from burglars, might put his government job at risk.

As a result, "we have to hang our clothes to dry in the room because our apartment doesn't have a real balcony," he said.

Yan's colleagues face the same choice.

Starting in late November, the local government began handing out an order to its employees, telling them to remove protruding window cages from their homes before Dec 20.

The order also warned leaders of government departments in Kunming that they would face serious consequences - believed to include firings - if they failed to accomplish assignments.

The order was issued as the city pushed to win the title of National Sanitary City, awarded by the central government.

The order from Kunming has drawn widespread opposition from those affected, who complain about the inconvenience and loss of property.

They also worry about the risk of their homes being ransacked by burglars.

At a press conference on Dec 13, Chen Yong, deputy mayor of Kunming, said protruding window cages were damaging the look of the city, encroaching on public space and disrupting the work of the city's sewerage department, local media reported.

Chen said some people had even attached cages onto the outside of windows and added platforms, using the space for kitchen functions and washing.

Such additions are commonly seen on homes built in the 1980s and early 1990s that do not have balconies.

The government is also trying to get such additions removed from homes owned by regular citizens - not just government employees. They have until Oct 1 to comply.

Local officials acknowledged they had run into resistance from citizens and government employees.

More than 150,000 sq m of space attached to more than 8,670 households had been removed as of 6 pm on Thursday, according to a municipal official surnamed Liu who is in charge of carrying out the order

The government will try to prevent a surge of burglaries by helping with anti-theft initiatives and push to keep the renovation cost reasonable, Liu said.

Chen, the deputy mayor, has reportedly promised that there will be a compensation plan, aimed at offsetting the cost of the work, in place by Dec 25.

"The plan is still under discussion," Liu added.