【英语中国】上海强拆艺术家园区 房地产热回归？

In another sign that China's property market is heating back up, Shanghai authorities last week knocked down part of an artist's compound in an affluent part of the city, culminating in a stand-off that led to a few minor injuries.

The forced demolition of the Changning district's Yuan Gong Art Garage highlights the challenges cities face as they try to resolve land disputes and urban conflicts amid a national urbanization push.

Shanghai-born contemporary artist Yuan Gong bought a large plot of land 10 years ago and created an art and retail space, naming the compound after himself. One of Shanghai's 77 industrial 'culture and creativity production parks,' the 6,000-square-meter facility houses design firms, restaurants, bars and spas, with about half the space occupied by Mr. Yuan's art studio.

This is not the first time Shanghai has courted controversy by demolishing the studio of a well-known artist. In January 2011, wrecking crews razed a $1 million art center built by dissident artist Ai Weiwei as the city's request - a result, he said, of his social advocacy. But Mr. Yuan says his artwork is not sensitive and said that his dispute is purely economic.

Last year, Mr. Yuan said local authorities contacted him about demolishing part of the property to build a road that would allow for a quicker flow of traffic in an area zoned as an economic and transport hub. The compound, located in an area that houses a large expat community and higher-income earners, is within walking distance of L'Avenue, a luxury mall developed by Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho and other new malls and offices currently under construction by Soho China and Forterra Trust.

'There were three exchanges regarding compensation but there wasn't any agreement,' Mr. Yuan said, noting that the final exchange was held in mid-August and there was no threat of forced eviction.

At the entrance of the 2,336-square-meter compound, metal scaffolding, concrete debris and glass shards remained at the scene when China Real Time visited Saturday. Tenants at the compound, visibly unhappy about the destruction, tried to carry on business as usual.

'I was very upset. I have stopped business for three days and I lose around 20,000 yuan ($3,300) in receipts every day we don't open for business,' said Zheng Kunhong , who manages Japanese restaurant Aobara, near the entrance of the compound. 'The thugs were right outside my restaurant telling customers not to come in, it's intimidation.'

Mr. Yuan said he rushed to the area Thursday after receiving a phone call about the demolition to find about 100 men dressed in black knocking down part of the four-story building near the entrance. The men prevented Mr. Yuan and his tenants from entering their workplace. According to a cleaner who lived at the compound, the demolition team started knocking down the walls at 6 a.m. that morning.

As more tenants arrived, they pushed out the demolition crew, shattering a glass door. People from both sides suffered minor injuries.

In a statement released Saturday, Changning District urban enforcers said the decision to demolish parts of the compound 'was delivered in early August because of the art compound's illegal outdoor facilities. But the landowner failed to change accordingly.' They noted that they enforced the demolition on Sept. 5 and did not respond to further inquiries as of Wednesday.

Several incidents involving land expropriation and forced demolition have made headlines in recent years as residents have threatened or committed suicide to protest attempts to seize their property.

Nearby Mr. Yuan's studio, residents of a housing compound say 120 families were relocated from three residential buildings next to the compound, two of which were razed to make room for the road earlier this year.

A local resident surnamed Jin who has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years said she was indifferent to Mr. Yuan's current woes. 'If the building needs to be demolished for the road, and if legal procedures have been followed, Yuan Gong should abide by the law,' she said, adding that her neighbors had moved out quickly without any disputes.

Mr. Yuan said he has lodged a complaint with local authorities.

作为中国房地产市场重新热起来的又一个迹象，上海有关部门上周拆掉了位于该市一个富裕地区的一个艺术家工作园区的部分区域，事件引发对峙，导致少数人受了轻伤。

Esther Fung/The Wall Street Journal上海强拆现场。上海长宁区原弓艺术创作仓库被强拆凸显出各个城市都面临的挑战——在全国性的城市化进程中，各城市都在努力解决土地纠纷和城市冲突。

上海籍现代艺术家原弓10年前买下了一大片土地，打造了一个艺术和零售区域，并以他自己的名字命名。这个占地6,000平方米的设施是上海77个文化创意产业园区之一，里面有设计公司、餐馆、酒吧和水疗吧，其中大约一半的地方是原弓的艺术工作室。

这并非上海第一次因拆毁知名艺术家的工作室而招致争议。2011年1月，在上海市的要求下，拆迁人员夷平了异见艺术家艾未未花费100万美元修建的一处艺术中心。艾未未说，被拆的原因是他在社会上的宣传。但原弓说，自己的艺术作品并不敏感，还说他的争议纯粹是经济性质。

去年，原弓说当地有关部门曾与他联系，想要拆掉这个艺术区的一部分，修建一条道路，在被划为经济和交通中心的区域实现更快速的交通流动。艺术区所在的地方有一个很大的外国人及高收入者聚居社区，步行即可到达由澳门赌场大亨何鸿燊(Stanley Ho)开发的高端商场尚嘉中心以及Soho中国和富达来地产信托(Forterra Trust)等公司在建的新商场和写字楼。

原弓说，就补偿问题曾经有过三次协商，但没有达成任何协议，并强调最后一次协商是在8月中旬进行的，当局当时并没有威胁要强拆。

“中国实时报”栏目的记者上周六造访了这处2,336平方米的园区，大门口还有金属脚手架、水泥块和碎玻璃。园区租户显然对于遭到的破坏很不满，但仍勉力照常营业。

位于园区门口附近的日本料理店青原(Aobara)的行政总厨郑坤宏说，我感到非常不安，我停了三天业，每天大约损失人民币2万元的营业额；那些人就在我的餐馆外，告诉顾客不要进来，这是恐吓。

原弓说，上周四他接到了一个电话，告诉他关于拆除的事，于是他急忙赶到园区，发现有约100名身穿黑色衣服的人正在拆毁大门附近的这座四层楼的部分结构。这些人阻止原弓和他的租户进入其作业区。据住在园区里的一名清洁工说，当天凌晨六点，拆楼小组开始拆除大楼的 壁。

随着更多的租户到达现场，他们将拆楼小组推了出去，打碎了一道玻璃门。双方都有人受轻伤。

在上周六发布的一份声明中，长宁区城管部门说，由于园区的非法户外设施，有关部门于8月初下达了拆除园区部分结构的决定，但业主没有做出相应的改变。他们指出，9月5日他们实施了拆除。截至周三，城管部门没有回复记者的更多询问。

近年来，由于居民威胁自杀（或真的自杀）以抗议政府试图征用土地，数起涉及土地征用和强拆的事件成为媒体关注的焦点。

在原弓的工作室附近，一个住宅小区的居民说，在小区旁边的三座住宅楼有120户拆迁，其中两座住宅楼今年早些时候被夷为平地，为修路让路。

一位已在该地区居住了30年的金姓当地居民说，她觉得原弓遇到的问题没什么大不了。如果需要拆楼来修路，如果是依法办事，原弓就应该遵守法律。她还说，她的邻居们都很快搬出去了，没有发生任何纠纷。

原弓说，他已经向当地有关部门投诉。