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| The reason behind the demolition plans is a new tourist-friendly plaza slated for the area near the Bell Tower, pictured here. Photo: Li Hao/GT |
He said it seems like the local government is monitoring reactions from the public and the media to see if they voice opposition against the project. If no criticism emerged, the demolition project would go on. If there was, however, strong push back, the government would wait to see whether it would be a persistent problem or passing media frenzy, He said.
About 20 foreign news media outlets have been following this demolition story, spreading the news in English, French, Spanish and more, He said. What is disappointing to him is the lukewarm attitude domestic media and academic institutes on culture preservation have shown.
But according to the House Levy Office of the Dongcheng District People's Government, the government might use legal means to empty the households if the residents refuse to move in the future.
The Gulou undertaking is "the first project under the name of 'levy' in Dongcheng district," said an office staffer surnamed Sun. Different from previous projects under the name of "demolition," or chaiqian, Sun says it means that this is a government action which has gone through all the necessarily legal procedures and the government can then sue non-compliant residents if they refuse to move.
However, Sun said, the government would notify affected Gulou hutong residents in advance and go through all necessary procedures along the way.
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