This family’s home located in Chongqing, central China, was left standing on its own island as the family refused to move out.
It all started when they refused to accept compensation to move and, while the row rumbled on, the bulldozers excavated the site around them. Rumoured to have government connections, the family is not expected to be forced out.Link
Update 4/3/07: Seems like the house has finally been demolished: Link - Thanks Joe Hasting!
Eventually, after holding out for years, his building started to come apart, now being located on the very edge of a cliff. All other tenants were long gone. Last time I visited him, there was a wide crack that had started to split his living room in two.
Those were strange times. But THIS photo... looks so surreal that the first thing you think is that it has to be a fake.
There's no tree and barelly enough space to make a fence to prevent anyone from falling in the water.
This is proof enough that you can't stand alone against a government... it's the same here in quebec ( Canada ) they are going to enlarge a highway and need to expropriate near 100 family because of it and there was one guy with his gas station/garage ( Nicely located since the highway was really near ) who was living la vida loca at that spot and didn't wanted to move. The money the government was giving was just compensating for the value of the building disregarding his business value.
They're still in negotiation with the guy but all point out that he will have to move... they refused his idea to build the highway around his building because of trafic trouble witch is ridicule since the guy could refund the extra cost with the profits of such a project alone.
Government playing dirty with small business.
I similar situation happened in my home town years ago after they legalized gambling. The city promised a casino land that it hadn't yet acquired. There was a business located there and they guy refused to move. The casino ended up having to build a walkway that went over his land.