China: Chongqing home buyers cheated · Global Voices
John Kennedy

The new property law has been much-discussed on the millions of homeowner forums across the country, and property rights consciousness is definitely spreading across the country, but it's not every city that has private interest-defending heroines like Chongqing‘s Wu Ping (the video linked to there has been deleted but this one shows Wu in action, and more here).
From the same city this past week, Chongqing residents eager to buy flats in the new Top Class Sixteen (上品十六) property had gathered on August 5 for the next step of flat selection. Two thousand VIP cards had been sold, as is often done in China, which at CNY 6,666 bought the holder the advance privilege of choosing which particular flat they would purchase. Only when flat selection day came, with several thousand potential future residents carrying the required down payment of CNY 10,000 in cash gathered in a gymnasium, it was announced that there were not enough flats to go around, and the crowd rioted.
There had been discussion of what ensued on Netease, which has since been deleted. Video of the scene during the flat selection inside the gymnasium can be found here:
Extensive discussion and accounts of the events leading up to and following the destruction of the developer's Sales Office and resulting clash with police can be found on several local Chongqing internet forums, however. Here's what one homeowner wrote:
场面过于混乱以及时间段长（早6：30—-凌晨2：00），只能简单叙述。
早在6月初，上品开始发放VIP卡，交6666抵扣10000房款，本来很多开发公司都以这种方式积累客户，但上品是在几个开发证件不齐的情况下发放，并不能随时退，协议要求在开盘20天后才予以退还。现场销售人员介绍开盘时间7月份，置业计划预算单价格为3600（后有3700、3800、3900）一说，直至8月5号摇号，前后2个月时间，周边房价涨了300-500元。要说房价普涨，它不涨也没道理，问题是客户已交的钱不能退，并在销售人员那里得到种种暗示：买卡一定能选到房，价格不变。在目前房屋都疯抢的情况下，很多业主寄希望于上品，即便是涨点价，但先期买了卡，至少可以保证选到房。基于此种心理很多客户放弃购买其他楼盘的机会，安心等待上品开盘。
The writer continues on with the story, of showing up at the gymnasium at 6:30 on the morning of August 5 with a VIP card and CNY 10,000 in cash down payment in hand ready to wait for his number to be called and to claim a flat for himself, noting that many potential homebuyers there were around 25 years old, and estimating the crowd at between 7,000 to 8,000 people.
Your number gets called, you choose your flat, and then you paid, with the lineup allegedly having quickly stretched several hours long. Between the straining to listen for their numbers from the gymnasium bleachers, he writes, and clutching tensely the bundles of cash they brought—credit cards weren't being accepted—it wasn't long before people got worked up. Eventually the chairman of the proceedings began calling people up on their mobile phones, informing them that many of the flats had already been informally reserved by the developer for in-house use. Quite tired by this point, people were unsatisfied at hearing this. One woman charged down onto the floor and began demanding a refund. This quickly led to the situation getting out of hand, and the angry mob's departure for the developer's office, demanding refunds.
They ripped the door off the Sales Office when they arrived, storming in and smashing walls and other things. The police arrived, who then quickly called for backup and there were some scuffles, but no fighting either way. Eventually the police let the remainder of the crowd into the office where among what they found was an official notice from the State Land Administration for the developer to cease illegally issuing VIP cards, as well as a list of flats which had been reserved by company executives which included the names and phone numbers of those involved, the size and location of the flat.
实事求是，昨天幸亏有警察维持现场，否则事态会更加恶化。正如有个警察向上级的汇报电话：“我们人一直在维持，要晚点售楼部都要遭烧”。
又退到外面静坐，这时，突然看到售房部那个台湾人和另一工作人员，身后围着10多个满脸横肉“光头”。原本一直克制、冷静的我心火顿冒，这都是什么样的社会啊，在几百警察的眼皮底下，竟然出现这种场面，连我一平头百姓都能感觉到这些人是干什么的，这些警察难道是瞎子，看不出来？并在不远就是他们的公安局长。暗下决心如果这些人敢动手打客户，我绝对参加反抗，豁出去，拼了！后来，一直都是内外闹哄哄的，不知道什么时候再没看到那群“光头”，也许是开发公司请来给工作人员壮胆，怕被客户认出打伤，但那台湾人和工作人员一直在工地大门不远处坐着。
Someone came out to speak—whom he wasn't able to see—and the crowd charged again, with violent clashes between police and homeowners now taking place and, the writer says he personally saw, at least two women be surrounded by seven or eight police officers and beaten. Another charge, and then a letter of guarantee stamped and signed by the developer suddenly arrived, promising those who wished a CNY 10,000 refund for their CNY 6,666 VIP card. No time reference is given, but his account ends here; judging from what many others have written, the crowd dispersed around 2 am on August 6.
Tencent has set up a page devoted strictly to the incident, and much more in eye-witness accounts is to be found at the Chongqing section of the real estate website Soufun.com, including a market description and layout diagram of the housing estate.
Discussion on the forums is covering all sorts of topics: members proposing votes on whether to follow through with purchasing the flat or seek a refund, a space devoted to personal testimonies of violence seen or felt that night, including a photo of one woman ostensibly injured during the rumble.
There's even been a Sina blog set up for this incident which is still being updated. Within can be found many photos of the smashed plants—even a temporary roadblock—from earlier in the day, and the mob action later at night.
Details and many photos can also be found at local website Chongqing Focus, but the discussion seems most lively at the Soufun site.
Comparison has is made to The Nailhouse and details of the day and night's proceedings are provided.
Some forum members are accused of attempting to influence the course of discussion in several forum threads which if true would explain the quick change of tune seen in some newer threads, with anonymous users writes reassuringly of the developers, heralding their exceptional integrity in resolving the situation, garnering little response from other users.
There's also a thread seeking to organize people for injury compensation, and another which alleges one pregnant woman was beaten and others present even killed, although users are quick to negate the death claim and emphasize that injuries sustained were not serious.
As mentioned above, on early morning August 6 the developers released a letter of guarantee responding to the grievances of those shortchanged with promises to offer them first choice in properties of the same price from the next phase of development, quickly raising questions of when that construction will begin, when it will finish, the quality and appearance of these flats, looking upon these promises with serious skepticism. Another thread summarizes those suspicions and provides a photo of the letter of guarantee, which states that ‘those not willing to buy houses on August 5′ can have their VIP cards refunded for 10,000 on August 7, adding that no more VIP cards will be issued.
The same concerns are echoed yet in more threads, with home buyers vowing to try and seek a refund, resigned to buy elsewhere, as property prices across the city are rising steadily. Like this thread, where one user writes:
时间就是金钱，这句话用在这里是再直白恰当不过了。
前期销售人员也好，KFS也好，给我们大家编制了一个很美很美的梦。大家的期望着，憧憬着，等待着这个美梦的实现。如今只听到“砰”的一声，在没有消散的烟雾中看到几个醒目的大字：这是一个白日梦……
我们这群怀揣美好生活梦想的年轻人呐，大家一定要团结起来，打人也好，恐吓也好，收买少数人也好，我们要KFS、zf为此付出代价
At least one thread claims that following the house selection in the gymnasium, when the crowed stormed the developer's office, police began beating people at one sergeant's orders.
Homeowners even issued a list of the previous issues and their recommendations for recourse. During the storming of the developer's office, the crowd got their hands on several documents which they've posted online, like this one which shows how many of the flats were reserved for company executives and their friends and relatives:
A series of photos have been gathered at the Cultural Vanguard forum, where not much discussion on this has taken place:
Perhaps related, on August 12 a video was uploaded to China's largest video website 56.com by user cuidi3zhu which shows a group of angry homeowners arguing with what appear to be representatives of a property development company, speaking in the Chongqing dialect: