Residential developer delivers empty promises, apartment buyers protest

Nearly 1,000 Jilin Province flat buyers protest in front of provincial government headquarters, two arrested

In Changchun, the capital of Jilin Province, nearly 1000 buyers of apartments in the biggest unfinished building of the North Lake Spring Collective Capital Building protested in front of government headquarters on Oct. 15. Two were arrested. The government-led Flourishing Age Group developed the project of six residential areas with about 8,000 apartment buyers. Buyers paid full price, but the developer exceeded the three-year period for delivering the apartments. During the past year buyers have protested many times but with no success.

In the latest protest, owners carried banners reading, “Flourishing Age return my money, government take action.” Police met them at the provincial government headquarters. Two protesters were arrested.

One of the owners said the developers and government repeated violated regulations and manipulated rules to extend delivery time of the apartments  to four years. This year, those delivered had no water, no electricity and many still are under construction.