He wedged his body in the gap between the rebars at the edge of the bridge, leaning out into the air. This photo was taken by our reporter, Li Jin Hong.
"At a certain overpass under construction on Longquan Road, someone is attempting to jump off the bridge." At around 9:30 PM last night, when I arrived at the intersection of Longquan Road and Jinse Avenue upon receiving the tip-off, I saw a man sitting on the overpass. Firefighters and police officers had already rushed to the scene, and an inflatable rescue cushion had been set up below the bridge.
Scene: Sitting on the Edge of the Bridge in Thin Clothing and Barefoot
The crowd gathered below the bridge were discussing the situation. They were all from Gangtou Village, just like the man who was about to jump. It was reported that the man's surname was Zhai, and he claimed that his house was forcibly demolished without reaching a demolition agreement, which led him to attempt to jump off the bridge.
A villager told the reporter that because a bridge was being constructed, some of their houses were included in the demolition scope. "But the compensation price is too low," said this villager. His house had three floors,
with a total area of more than 500 square meters. Based on the current housing prices nearby, this compensation money would only be enough for his family of five to buy a house less than 200 square meters. "On the morning of November 16th, someone dragged his family out of the house and then demolished it. Due to the sudden incident, Mr. Zhai's family didn't have time to pack their belongings. Moreover, they hadn't reached a compensation agreement, so they haven't received a single cent of demolition compensation yet. Therefore, they could only 'live' in the office of the Gangtou Village Committee."
When the reporter went up the bridge to talk with Mr. Zhai, who was sitting on the edge of the bridge, he was lightly dressed and barefoot in the cold wind. He said that after the house was demolished, they didn't even have clothes to change into. His wife hasn't eaten or drunk anything for several days and has been relying on food fed to her by relatives and friends. A few days ago, his wife went up to the overpass intending to commit suicide but was stopped by the construction workers. Last night at around 7 o'clock, Mr. Zhai also stepped onto the overpass due to feeling hopeless about life.
When the reporter left the scene at 10:30 PM last night, he still hadn't come down from the bridge.
Report: Refusal to Sign Agreement Resulted in Forced Demolition
According to the report from Wuhua District, the land requisition and demolition work for the Northwest Third Ring Closure Project started in mid-June. During the relocation process, Zhai Lixin and Lu Meihua consistently refused to sign the demolition compensation agreement. To ensure the project's early completion, the Legal Affairs Office of Wuhua District Government, based on the arbitration application proposed by the Kunming Wuhua District Transportation Bureau, held two coordination meetings according to relevant procedures, notifying Zhai Lixin to mediate at the Legal Affairs Office, but the residents did not attend either meeting. On November 8th, Deputy District Chief Wang Xun, who was in charge of the Third Ring construction in Wuhua District, worked with the household and provided some economic compensation, but the residents still refused to sign the agreement. On the morning of November 16th at around 10 o'clock, the Wuhua District Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau legally carried out the forced demolition of Zhai Lixin's house.
After the forced demolition, the sub-district office persuaded Zhai and Lu to move into the temporary housing rented for them, but the two insisted on not going, staying instead in the office of the Gangtou Community Residents' Committee. During this period, the office arranged for dedicated personnel to accompany and care for them daily, conducting extensive ideological work. Regarding Lu Meihua's refusal to eat, on the afternoon of November 23rd, the office sent her to the Wuhua District People's Hospital for treatment.
Ten days after admission, upon her own request and with the consent of medical staff, Lu Meihua was discharged on December 2nd, but since her discharge, she still refuses to live in the temporary housing rented for her by the office, continuing to stay in the office of the Gangtou Community Residents' Committee.
Starting on December 7th, Lu Meihua once again refused to eat. At around 2 PM the next day, Lu Meihua went outside to the overpass on the Northwest Third Ring intending to jump off the bridge, but was promptly discovered and stopped by the office and police station comrades, and was returned to the community committee office for placement. Recently, Zhai Lixin has exhibited some extreme behaviors indicating a desire to jump off a building.
The Wuhua District report believes that the extreme actions of Zhai Lixin and Lu Meihua have interfered with the normal operations of the office and hindered the smooth progress of the Northwest Third Ring Closure Project.
Currently, the office will continue to patiently and meticulously carry out ideological work with Zhai Lixin and Lu Meihua, and dispatch dedicated personnel for 24-hour observation and accompaniment.
By reporter Gao Tingting (Yunnan Information Daily)