Trouble in Gulou

• Source: Global Times
• [10:31 December 01 2010]
• Comments

A resident of Gulou looks out over the air force base construction site. Photo: Wang Zi

By Matthew Jukes

It was two years ago that Wu Wanlu finally snapped. He awoke in the middle of the night to find his house flooded with smoke. He jumped to his feet, grabbed his wife, and pulled them both out of the noxious fumes.

Logistics base

When Wu was outside he could see that his chimney had been blocked with rubbish, thrown by construction workers building grand offices for the nearby People's Liberation Army Air Force Logistics base.

This isn't the first time that Wu has had trouble, over the last three and a half years his shop front on Gulou Dongdajie has been smashed; he's been intimidated by men posing as government officials without identification and has been threatened with eviction, all without explanation. The actions became so intimidating that he went to different places to seek assistance.

"I hope we can be considered more important than the expansion of an air force base," says Wu, who considers the fact that his house and shop are still standing after the three-year torment a victory. But he insists that only when he gets an official admission that they will not try to remove him again, that his case will have been proved.

Keeping hush

Just a few doors down from Wu, the air force base keeps a public enquiry office along the shop front of Gulou Dongdajie next to the main gate of the base. It's normally manned by uniformed staff busy working in notebooks or talking on telephones. Prior to entering the office, local residents had warned about the tight-lipped attitude of the military to enquiries.

"All I can tell you is that we are expanding, and expanding slowly. Not many of the residents want to sell their homes, and no, there is no one you can speak to about this," said the soldier at the front desk abruptly, who wished only to be known as Liu.

Since then the air force has declined to comment on the issue further. And it's not just the media that they aren't talking to. Many of the locals who have remained in the area, have been suffering the effects of noise pollution and structural damage to their homes, but have not been given any information as to why, or what they can do about it.

"They use these great drills and everything shakes and cracks. For almost three years my husband and son can't sleep well, and they have to go to work or study every day, the noise only takes a break so that the workers can have lunch, if they start the machines overnight, the whole house moves," said a resident surnamed Yang, who lives directly behind the main work of the site. Especially during the pleasantly warm summer evenings, the construction has been a menace for her and her family.

Eventually Yang explains, they will need to move, as she can see the air force base expanding little by little, but no one has contacted her about when or how this will happen and until she receives a decent offer, she has no inclination to leave.

"What they're offering most people isn't enough to buy another place within the city center, I'd have to move outside the fifth or even sixth ring," she complains. "At the moment it's not even enough to buy a toilet."