Authorities in Beijing have issued an administrative order to demolish “illegal structures” in a suburb area as property owners file a class-action lawsuit with a local court.

Officials ordered village committee members and “users of the illegal structures” in Xiantangcun in Changping district to tear down their structures before Dec. 9, according to a notice dated Dec. 2 and circulating on Twitter.

The Changping district branch of the Commission of Planning and Natural Resources had applied to the local court to enforce the relevant decision on administrative penalties, the notice showed, adding that the authorities would remove the structures if the property owners in question failed to do so.

However, the decision was not found on the official website, Radio Free Asia reported.

Xiantangcun is a village comprising about 3,800 villas and “siheyuan,” a historical type of residence.

Rumours that had circulated online since last Saturday said that a number of law enforcers and “black-clad” people whose identities were unknown had moved to Xiantangcun and threatened the villagers.

It was not the first time that the authorities wanted to demolish Xiantangcun. Last year, the local government tried to do so but ran into resistance from the villagers.

A number of property owners had also tried to find out the legal basis for the demolition, but received no response from officials.

RFA earlier made arrangements with a property owner, but he later declined to be interviewed. The media outlet had not been able to verify the situation in Xiantangcun.

The Beijing municipal government also launched a demolition drive last year. Xiantangcun was only the tip of the iceberg, but it was also one of the hardest villages for authorities to tackle, economist Sheng Hong said.

Xiantangcun was a large village and was one of the most influential and famous, Sheng added.

He believed that for at least two-thirds of Xiantangcun homeowners, the place was their only residence. If the authorities tore down their houses and forced them to become homeless during the winter, it would turn into a humanitarian disaster.

The incident once again showed the Chinese government did not honor the spirit of contracts, political commentator Hua Po said. Although the demolition affected the middle class, they were not able to defeat the powers that be, Hua added.

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