Wenzhou

Do not fear the heavens and the earth, but be afraid of hearing a person from Wenzhou speak in their local tongue.

The issue of land ownership rights came into focus in Wenzhou in April after the local government demanded that homeowners whose land-use rights had expired after 20 years pay fees of up to a third of the value of their homes before they could sell their apartments. The decision provoked protests from property owners in Wenzhou, a coastal city of eight million that was one of the first to set up private enterprise after the government opened up the economy in the late 1970s.

Saola is not the only storm threatening China this weekend, as Haikui, a second Pacific typhoon, is expected to make landfall on Sunday in eastern China, south of the city of Wenzhou, the US Embassy in Beijing said in a weather alert.