Chapter 79 12. Choice

A week later, William Matthews, who received a fax from Bai Changxing, flew directly to Dongzhou from New York and arrived at Dongzhou Airport in the evening.He Zhendong and Wu Zhiqiang, director of the Municipal Construction Committee, went to the airport to welcome them on behalf of the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government. Bai Changxing and Bai Zhigang were also there. This was the first time that the Bai brothers had contact with the deputy mayor in charge of real estate as the developer of the Knights Hotel. . When He Zhendong saw Bai Changxing and Bai Zhigang's embarrassment over the small brothel, he felt very proud, because among the big real estate developers in Dongzhou, Bai Changxing and Bai Zhigang brothers were the only ones who kept a certain distance from him, the land lord.He Zhendong thought to himself: "It's time for these two ignorant fellows to suffer a bit. People dare not bow their heads under the eaves. It's okay if they don't bow their heads. They can't stop their noses and swollen faces. Move the Yankees here." It's useless, the fun has just begun." He Zhendong didn't give Bai Changxing and Bai Zhigang a good face at the airport.

After William Matthews stepped out of the cabin, a beautiful female secretary from the office of the Municipal Construction Committee presented flowers, and He Zhendong went up to greet him and warmly shook hands with William Matthews, "Mr. Matthews, on behalf of Secretary Hong and Xia Shi The chief welcomes you to Dongzhou again, you have worked hard all the way!" "Vice Mayor He, thank you very much for coming to pick me up at the airport in person. It's a great honor. I came here specially for the construction of the Knights Hotel. I'm short on time, and I really want to see Secretary Hong and Mayor Xia as soon as possible. "William Matthews said bluntly while holding He Zhendong's hand.

"No hurry, Mr. Matthews, you go back to the hotel to rest first, Secretary Hong and Mayor Xia will greet you at the Caohekou Guest House in the evening." He Zhendong said with a smile. "Excellent, thank you very much!" After William Matthews finished speaking, he shook hands with Wu Zhiqiang and others one by one. When they reached Bai Changxing and Bai Zhigang, William Matthews changed to a hug. Originally, Hong Wenshan wanted to pick up William Matthews at the airport in person. Hong Wenshan had a soft spot for this American friend, because it was the generous investment of the American Knights Fund that made the residents of Yanzhitun live in Rainbow City, which also drove The rapid implementation of the "Golden Street and Silver Belt" project proposed by myself.

Originally, the renovation of Yanzhitun was a project of benevolent government that benefited the people, but Hong Wenshan never imagined that such a project of benevolent government would also have "nail house" incidents, and hundreds of media outlets and tens of millions of Internet users would be involved in it. Vigorous reports, comments, doubts and debates have hit Dongzhou like a flood. The media in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States have also reported on the Xiaoqinglou incident. Now the fate of Xiaoqinglou is seriously tested. It affects the governing ability of Dongzhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government.

Under pressure, under the proposal of Zhao Guoguang, director of the Standing Committee of the Municipal People's Congress, just as William Matthews arrived at Dongzhou Airport, the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee was working intensely. The reason why Zhao Guoguang proposed to convene the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee was because he felt that the establishment of a special investigation committee by the Municipal People's Congress was a very important matter, and he needed to inform the Standing Committee members. In fact, neither Hong Wenshan nor Xia Wentian expected that the Municipal Housing Management Bureau would apply for judicial forced eviction without reporting to the municipal party committee and government, nor did they expect that the ruling on judicial forced eviction would be issued so quickly, let alone the demolition of an ordinary house There will be an uproar across the country.People are not only concerned about the legal rights of Liu Wenlong and Xu Tianfeng, but also whether the legal private property of citizens is really inviolable through the Xiaoqinglou's consideration of the just-passed constitutional amendment?

In fact, since the day Hong Wenshan entrusted Zhu Wenjin to intervene in the relocation of the small brothel, Zhu Wenjin insisted on going his own way that Secretary Hong advocated forced relocation from the bottom of his heart, and the reason why he was allowed to intervene was because Secretary Hong needed a city leader who slandered .Zhu Wenjin was very disgusted with the inconsistency of the deputy mayor He Zhendong's attitude on the issue of the relocation of small brothels. The city's demolition office puts pressure on it, which is beneficial to the construction of the "Golden Street and Silver Belt" project; privately, it is also to please Secretary Hong, but it helps Senhao Group unintentionally.

Therefore, at the beginning of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee, Zhu Wenjin was the first to speak to question the legitimacy of the Municipal People's Congress Special Issues Investigation Committee. "Director Zhao, as far as I know, the establishment of a special issue investigation committee by the Municipal People's Congress is unprecedented in the country. Besides, the demolition of an ordinary house is not a special issue. It happens every day in hundreds of cities across the country. Is it necessary to set up a special investigation committee?"

"Comrade Wen Jin, I think you have taken the issue too simply. Xiaoqinglou is an ordinary house, but it is built on a crater. What is a crater? It is the constitutional amendment that was just passed. Why are hundreds of media Tens of millions of netizens were involved, and even the Voice of America reported it? It is because the small brothel and the land below it are privately owned and legal. Liu Wenlong and Xu Tianfeng are defending their legal private property from Infringement is also to defend the dignity of the Constitution. We emphasize the rule of law, first of all to rule the country according to the Constitution. The reason why people pay attention to this matter is to see whether the citizens' legal private property stipulated in the Constitution is not violated in socialist China. It is precisely based on this consideration that the National People’s Congress established the Special Issues Investigation Committee. This is a necessity. It is not important whether there is a precedent in the country. The problem investigation refers to the investigation organized by the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee in accordance with legal procedures to verify a major problem. The specific problem investigation is different from the general investigation of the National People's Congress. According to the Constitution and the Organic Law, the people's congresses at or above the county level and their standing committees can organize investigation committees for specific issues. Specific issues refer to certain special events or special major issues, such as major violations of the Constitution and laws, and state organs are responsible Serious dereliction of duty, dereliction of duty, major typical cases of serious violations of the law by the judiciary and its staff, major issues that have a large impact on the people who have a particularly strong response, and the removal case proposed by the representative. The special issue investigation committee established by the Municipal People's Congress has undergone intense investigations The work survey found that the forced eviction of small brothels is unconstitutional, and the people’s reaction is particularly strong. Influential lawyers in our city are appealing to the Municipal People’s Congress to stop the judicial forced eviction. Very strong. In addition, according to the investigation by the Special Issues Investigation Committee, Wu Beibei, the vice president of the Zhongshan District People's Court, is a classmate of Bai Zhigang, the general manager of Senhao Group. Bai Zhigang used Wu Beibei to influence the collegial panel, and Wu Beibei committed malfeasance. The investigation is different from the investigation of general issues of the National People's Congress. Since the small brothel incident has seriously affected the image of Dongzhou's reform and opening up, and it has also severely tested the governing ability of the municipal party committee and the municipal government. It is necessary to report this issue to the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee.”

Zhao Guoguang's speech was well-founded, Zhu Wenjin didn't take it seriously, "Director Zhao, I think you take the problem too seriously. I don't think there is a problem of testing the governing ability of the municipal party committee and the municipal government. I think the municipal government is fully capable of law-abiding and calm , Properly handle this incident, but it is absolutely not allowed to hang on or ask for unreasonable prices. The reconstruction of Yanzhitun not only involves the interests of developers, but also involves the public interests of ordinary people. There is no land transfer in Yanzhitun Jin, how can ordinary people live in Rainbow City, which is spacious, bright, and beautiful? So the reconstruction of Yanzhitun and the construction of Rainbow City are a whole, a livelihood project.”

Before Zhu Wenjin finished speaking, Zhou Yongnian took over and said: "Since it is a project to benefit the people, it should be a popular project. I think that as long as one household in Yanzhitun is dissatisfied, it cannot be called a popular project. Since the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, we have The party has always practiced the ruling concept of "harmonious society" and requires the government to work to benefit the people in a practical way. How to benefit the people in a practical way? It starts with the little things. Everyone knows that one can live in peace and work happily. The current owner of a small brothel I don’t want to relocate. Their house was passed down from their ancestors and they have a legal real estate ownership certificate. If the negotiation fails, they should respect their choice. I suggest that Comrade Wen Tian talk to the developer and see if he can learn from it. Learn from the practices of developed countries and change the design."

As soon as Zhou Yongnian's words came out of his mouth, members of the Standing Committee immediately discussed.At this time, Xia Wentian was in a very complicated mood. He had to admit that the Xiaoqinglou incident raised many questions, which could not be answered only through constitutional amendments. The country urgently needed the "Property Rights Law" to be promulgated as soon as possible. Recently, Xia Wentian has seriously thought about what constitutes public interest.He carefully browsed the opinions expressed by netizens on the brothel, and he found that whether it is netizens or the media, one of the focuses of the debate on the brothel incident is the identification of public interests.Liu Wenlong and his wife denied the public interest nature of the development project because of its commercial nature; the government highlighted its public interest nature on the grounds that it was related to the living quality of Yanzhitun residents.At first, Xia Wentian thought that the renovation of Yanzhitun was entirely out of public interest, but after the completion of Rainbow City and the land of Yanzhitun revealed, the island-like small brothels really made him confused about what public interest was.Over the years, urban construction has always been under the shield of public interests. If things go on like this, on the one hand, it is difficult to avoid some people hiding behind the shield of public interests and continuing to infringe on the legitimate private interests of others; It is also difficult to establish credit and gain the respect of citizens.When it is really necessary to regulate the private interests of some people for the sake of the public interest, it will be difficult to work, and it will be difficult to protect the real public interest.It should be said that the brothel incident taught Xia Wentian a lesson. Thinking of this, Xia Wentian took a sip of tea and said: "Comrades, there is no doubt that Xiaoqinglou can be called an incident, and it has indeed risen to a specific issue. If this matter is handled well, its good impact can be said to be immeasurable. The profound impact on people's hearts cannot be achieved by how many lectures and books. If it is not handled well, its impact is immeasurable. I agree with Comrade Guoguang and Comrade Yongnian, and I accept the supervision of the Municipal People's Congress. William of the Knight Fund · Matthews has arrived in Dongzhou now, and I will have a banquet with Secretary Hong after the meeting. William Matthews came for the small brothel incident. It is unexpected that a small brothel will affect the international reputation of the Dongzhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government .” Xia Wentian's last words made the atmosphere of the venue a little more relaxed.Hong Wenshan pressed half of the cigarette butt in his hand into the ashtray and said frankly: "Today's Standing Committee has taught me a lesson as a squad leader. I have always advocated the relocation of small brothels. The Municipal People's Congress established a special investigation committee deeply It touched me. It should be said that within the existing framework, the institutional resources to solve the small brothel incident are far from enough. This is a basic fact. It is this basic fact that makes the stalemate between the developers and the small brothel owners. The media There are two reasons for such a strong response, one is the power of the Internet, and the other is the just-passed constitutional amendment. The Xiaoqinglou incident has to make us think deeply about the grand context of this incident. The resistance of Liu Wenlong and Xu Tianfeng is both a The new constitution is a question about the inviolability of citizens' legal private property; it is also a call to reform the entire legal system and even institutional civilization. Of course, while looking forward to institutional changes, proper handling of the incident itself is even more urgent. The more the stalemate continues, the more coercion and confrontation continue, the greater the cost of solving the problem, which is likely to be unbearable for both parties. How to protect the legal interests of both parties to the maximum extent so that both parties have a decent retreat, Both sides are winners, this is not only a test for Dongzhou, but also an opportunity for Dongzhou, I hope Dongzhou will seize this opportunity and contribute to the construction of democracy and legal system in our country." Hong Wenshan's words won warm applause from all the members of the Standing Committee, and Hong Wenshan's statement made Xia Wentian also heave a sigh of relief.Before Xia Wentian joined the Standing Committee, he was ready to persuade Hong Wenshan. He thought that he would inevitably have a verbal confrontation with Lao Hong at the meeting, but he did not expect Hong Wenshan to be so clear-headed. In the end, all members of the Standing Committee expressed their support for the Municipal People’s Congress’s revocation of the administrative eviction ruling issued by the Municipal Housing Management Bureau.Zhao Guoguang, director of the Standing Committee of the Municipal People's Congress, dropped his heart. After the dinner, Hong Wenshan and Xia Wentian had an in-depth discussion with William Matthews, Bai Changxing and Bai Zhigang in the small conference room No. 15 of the Caohekou Guest House. At first, William Matthews did not understand why there was a small brothel incident after the Knight Fund paid off the land transfer fee.Xia Wentian had no choice but to talk about the story of "owning your own tree" from the "mill" in Germany to the "owning your own tree" in the United States. A case of redesigning.William Matthews understood that Xia Wentian was explaining Western laws, but he didn't know how Chinese laws could solve this problem. He looked at Bai Changxing and Bai Zhigang. Bai Changxing is an extremely smart person. He originally wanted to take advantage of the conflict between Hong Wenshan and Xia Wentian's attitude towards the brothel, and hoped that Secretary Hong would continue to support the forced relocation of the brothel.However, he found that he had misjudged the situation. Bai Changxing never expected that Hong Wenshan and Xia Wentian's attitudes were the same, so Bai Changxing asked for a refund of part of the land transfer fee if the brothel could not be forcibly moved.It's a pretty decent fallback. Xia Wentian originally planned to give them this step, so he promised that everything will be determined after the Municipal People's Congress's resolution on the report of the Special Issues Investigation Committee. If the Municipal People's Congress makes a decision to revoke the judgment of the Zhongshan District People's Court on judicial eviction, the city government will refund the Knight Fund accordingly. Lost land transfer fees. The conversation ended in a pleasant and friendly atmosphere.When they finally broke up, William Matthews said something that impressed Hong Wenshan and Xia Wentian deeply: "The little brothel incident not only made me see a brand new Dongzhou, but also let me see a brand new China!" However, one after another, just as William Matthews got on the plane and before returning to the Senhao International Building, Mao Xiaomao called Bai Changxing and told him the news that shocked him: Senhao International The central construction site was shut down. Bai Changxing asked the old man to turn off the car and go to the construction site of Senhao International Center.Bai Zhigang, who was following behind, didn't understand what was going on, so he immediately called his elder brother on his mobile phone.After Bai Changxing briefly explained the situation on the phone, Bai Zhigang's heart immediately twitched. The two cars drove towards the construction site of Senhao International Center like lightning.Bai Changxing knew very well that this was caused by the failure to sign the contract for the third phase of the above-ground project, but Xiong Huashan was the one who opened his mouth to blame. The two sides talked several times but couldn't come to an end. Xiong Huashan kept threatening to suspend work, but he didn't expect this 'Earth mouse' is serious. From a distance, we could see the red flags waving on the construction site of the sports center. The construction workers were working in full swing. When Bai Changxing and Bai Zhigang got off the Mercedes-Benz and walked towards the construction site of Senhao International Center, the tall hanging tower stood silently like a lonely giant. On the construction site, none of the workers disappeared, and the entire construction site was empty, with only a few security guards playing poker at the headquarters. Bai Changxing silently glanced at the construction site of the sports center in the distance, feeling very heavy.At this time, several security guards spotted them and walked over carelessly. "What do you do?" the lead security guard asked. "Asshole, talk to the boss more politely." The old Guan Guan who was standing next to him shouted. "Why, are you the boss of Senhao International Center?" The leading security guard continued to ask. Bai Changxing nodded, "Brother, how long has the construction site been closed?" "It's been off for a week." The security guard replied. "Do you know why it stopped?" Bai Changxing frowned and asked. "Where do we, a little security guard, know where to go!" The security guard said with a wry smile. "Zhigang, call Xiong Huashan on the cell phone. No matter what the reason is, give him a week to start work immediately, otherwise the city arbitration committee will see you!" Bai Changxing said in a low voice. "Okay." Bai Zhigang took out his cell phone and dialed Xiong Huashan's cell phone. "Ground mouse, you sing the empty city plan well, why, do you think our two brothers are Sima Yi?" "Zhigang, it's not difficult to start construction. I paid for the first phase of the underground project, signed the contract for the third phase of the above-ground project, and started construction immediately." Xiong Huashan's voice was very clear, and it was obvious that he was thinking about his empty plan. proud. "Xiong Huashan, I'll repeat it again, if you don't solve the quality problem of the project, you will never get a penny." Bai Zhigang said forcefully. "That's good, then let's spend it like this, and see who can spend more." Xiong Huashan said indifferently. "Xiong Huashan, do you think you can blackmail us by stopping work? Let me tell you, you are only allowed to start work within a week, everything is negotiable, otherwise, see you at the Municipal Arbitration Commission!" Bai Zhigang said without compromise. "Bai Zhigang, if you don't look for the Municipal Arbitration Commission, I will look for it too. I suspect that Senhao Group has no ability to pay at all, and has repeatedly failed to pay the project fee. You are fraudulent." Xiong Huashan went online Say. "Xiong Huashan, you stopped work without saying goodbye, unilaterally terminated the contract, and broke your promise. In this case, we have nothing to talk about." Bai Zhigang hung up the phone angrily. "Brother, it seems that the mouse is determined not to start work. He wants to use the shutdown to coerce us to pay for the first phase of the underground project and sign the contract for the third phase of the above-ground project at the same time." "He has a good idea!" Before Bai Zhigang finished speaking, Bai Changxing said angrily, "If the quality problem of the project is not resolved, he will never get the project payment. Zhigang, it seems that the lawsuit with Dongzhou Construction Engineering is inevitable. Entrust Yiqian's law firm with full authority to intervene in this matter." "Brother, Yiqian and I have separated, can we change to a law firm?" Bai Zhigang said embarrassedly. "Yiqian is the chief legal advisor of Senhao Group, and she knows the situation of Senhao International Center best. The man is flexible, so he just passed by with his head down. Listen to the elder brother and talk to Yiqian." After Bai Changxing finished speaking, he patted Zi Zhigang on the shoulder, got into the car without looking back, and Lao Guan quickly got into the cab.Bai Changxing left first, and Bai Zhigang looked at the desolate construction site with melancholy, feeling at a loss in his heart.