Daring to take risks

On the night of March 28th 2012, Wang family was to be evicted from the house they owned for years. This controversial case of one family has captivated thousands of young bodies and hearts. No matter if for support or opposition, these young people have left their computers and stepped out of their houses to meet one another, and used their youth to experience and to ‘make’ the society.

I hear from time to time “anti-eviction” songs and slogans. The indescribable high-spirited atmosphere spreads among the strange yet united crowd.

At the back of Wang family’s house, the gate of the construction site is wide open, police forces begin to build-up, two excavators are parked on a side. We’re standing on a rooftop, flashlight rays are aiming at as from a nearby building. Someone shouts restlessly: “What the f**k are you flashing at!” and starts to yell at the police. Everybody surrounds those who have participated in protests before and listens intently as they share their experiences. They also exchange phone numbers, so that they can contact each other after the police expel them.

Downstairs, the police shields are narrowing the circle and the guarding people are calming down. Everyone knows that the police are about to make a move, but there is no way to avoid the scene turning ugly. In face of being forcefully expelled, we, who are standing on the roof, can only shout back ‘peace’ slogans.

“Anyway, they will tear everything down; let’s use the water container to obstruct the doors!” While waiting in desperation for being moved out, a student tries to do something, but is stopped by another person: “These things belong to Wang family…”

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Original text by Jiahe Lin, Zijie Yang

Translation from Chinese by Witold Chudy

Photography by Jiahe Lin

Written by : Zijie Yang Send a message to Zijie Yang

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