China's Guangdong Passes Emergency Law Allowing Seizure of Private Property, Goods

The widespread requisitioning of private property by the Chinese government for use as isolation facilities in the coronavirus epidemic has sparked fears that officials will abuse their powers, as the number of confirmed cases topped 45,000.

Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong recently passed emergency legislation authorizing local governments to requisition privately owned property, transportation, equipment and other goods to fight the epidemic of COVID-19, as the virus has been named by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Local commentators say there are concerns that the move will pave the way for officially sanctioned looting of private property amid the chaos of the epidemic.

In Wuhan and other parts of China, the authorities have requisitioned buildings and intercepted packages of goods needed for epidemic control, including privately purchased supplies of protective clothing and face masks.

Liang Yiming, a resident of Guangdong's provincial capital Guangzhou, said she has her doubts about the policy.

"If they are using [properties] to isolate people who have been infected, they should take over an entire residential compound that is easier to lock down and control," Liang told RFA.

"There's a government building in every district, used by the administration,"

"These properties don't belong to the [ruling] Chinese Communist Party, but have been paid for by the taxpayer," she said. "I think we would be much more willing to to cooperate ... if they first requisitioned all of the government office buildings, the police stations and police departments."

Ref: Property Report