Homeowners Fight for Control of Their Community in China

The drum team arrived late to the rally, its members wearing bright red costumes as they spilled out of a minivan. Other attendees were already dancing to music blaring from a nearby speaker or chanting the name of their favored candidate.

It had all the hallmarks of a rollicking election campaign. But the dozens of people who had gathered on a winter morning in January, about two hours northwest of Beijing, were not there to support a politician. This was about their homeowners’ association.

In the United States, homeowners’ associations are mostly known as the often reviled organizations that tell homeowners where they can park or how long they can keep up their Christmas lights. But for these Chinese homeowners, their group has become a tiny-scale experiment in grassroots organizing, aimed at winning control over their gated community, Lafite Waterfront.

Even organizing around something as mundane as property management carries risks in China, where collective action is tightly monitored. Police officers and security guards stood nearby, watching closely. At one point, the police took away one homeowner.

The owners have signed petitions, canvassed neighbors, drafted bylaws and held elections for the group’s leadership. They have rallied and protested to challenge what they see as violations of their rights.

“The law empowers homeowners to take control,” a slogan on one flag declared.