Stop forcible demolitions

Wuhan set a good example in stopping forcible demolition of houses , says an article in Beijing News. The following is an excerpt:

Last week, a court in Wuhan of Hubei province held a hearing on forcible demolition of an old house and two persons in charge of the demolition were cited for suspected vandalism of personal assets. The two suspects demolished an old house before they signed the resettlement agreement with the owner. It is reportedly to be the first legal case involving forcible demolition in the resettlement sector in Wuhan.

In recent years, with the accelerated pace of urban construction and renovation, there have appeared more disputes caused by forcible demolition of old houses. As the two defendants said in the court, in many cases, the workers in charge of demolishing old houses also know their acts are against the law, but they continue to adopt strong-arm measures because they hope to force owners to "sign" resettlement agreements.