The South China Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, located in Guangzhou, is one of the most important research bases for botany and ecology in our country. However, under the cover of lush tropical rare plants, eight villas are quietly being constructed without going through any construction approval procedures.
Four "stop work notices" have failed to halt the construction at the illegal construction site.
The foundation construction of the villas has been completed, with scaffolding and safety nets installed on the exterior, but there are no workers currently on-site. In front of the villa area, a comprehensive office building has already been built to three or four stories high.
It is reported that the eight villas occupy 2000 square meters, each being a two-story building with two to three rooms per floor. The smaller villas have single-floor areas exceeding a hundred square meters, while the larger ones approach nearly 200 square meters. Each villa has a viewing terrace or window, with most having independent bathrooms. Supporting facilities such as swimming pools are scattered amidst a lush tropical jungle.
Recently, the Tianhe District Urban Management Department of Guangzhou issued a "final ultimatum" to the construction unit, requiring them to stop construction and deliver the land use approval certificate, planning permit, construction permit, and related legal documents to the urban management department before the end of work on July 30 for questioning.
According to the Tianhe District Urban Management Department, this is the fourth time they have issued a stop-work notice to the illegal construction site. Since discovering the illegal construction site in January this year, they have immediately issued stop-work notices to the construction party, but each time it was like throwing stones into the sea, with the illegal construction site continuing its operations as usual.
"I haven't even seen the person in charge of the construction party until now," said Captain Duan Guohong of the Tianhe Changxing Urban Management Enforcement Team. After issuing the order to rectify within a specified period, he had repeatedly met with relevant officials from the garden, but only a Mr. Chen responsible for infrastructure at the South China Botanical Garden accepted two brief inquiries. Construction continued after the inquiries. As for the owner's representative and the construction party's representative, they have remained "nowhere to be found."
The South China Botanical Garden claims that the villas under construction are not "private villas."
The South China Botanical Garden showed the urban management department a construction engineering planning permit for the original "Scientists' Home" from 1988. However, this plan only included one building, whereas the current "Scientists' Home" villa complex under construction by the South China Botanical Garden occupies 2000 square meters, far exceeding the previous approval.
According to relevant regulations, rebuilding after demolishing the original building also requires re-approval, but the owner has been unable to provide relevant documents.
In response to the statement of the South China Botanical Garden, the Tianhe District Urban Management Department believes that "reporting first before construction is a common sense issue." If the South China Botanical Garden can produce valid land use approval certificates, planning permits, construction permits, and related legal documents by July 30, the urban management department will consider legally recognizing the legality of the building; otherwise, it will be placed into the legal handling procedure.
"High walls and large courtyards" should not become an "obstacle" to law enforcement.
After the news about the illegal villas at the South China Botanical Garden was published, it immediately attracted widespread attention from all sectors of society.
Dr. Zeng Dexiong, a member of the Guangzhou Municipal People's Congress, believes that urban management law enforcement should treat violations within "high walls and large courtyards" equally; Meng Hao, a standing member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, believes that any unit should follow legal procedures and should not enjoy any privileges beyond the law just because it is within "high walls and large courtyards."