查看“Demolish it”的源代码

拆哪 (chāi nǎ): demolish it

[[File:chaina.jpg|250px|thumb|right|''(Weibo)'']]
[[File:demolishit2.jpg|250px|thumb|right|''Bulldozer with “demolish” written on it, an extension of the bureaucratic arm. (金羊网)'']] 
Chāi nǎ mimics the sound of the English word “China.” 

“Demolish” (拆 chāi) has a special meaning in contemporary China, as demolitions, often forced on tenants with little or no compensation, are a major source of social instability. Developers and the local government profit greatly from [http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/02/scenes-from-a-forced-demolition/ forcibly evicting] people from their homes to build on the land. Anger over forced demolitions led the people of [http://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/wukan/ Wukan], Guangdong to fight the local government, eventually laying siege to their village in December 2011.

哪 nǎ means “where” or “which.” Hence, Chāi nǎ also sounds like the question “Where/which should be demolished?” mocking the ubiquity of demolition.

Throughout China, 拆 is spray-painted or stenciled on the sides of buildings slated for demolition. People who have had their homes demolished are called 拆迁户 (chāiqiānhù). 

Chāi nǎ is included in Linguist [http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4026 Victor Mair's collection of nicknames for China].

<feed url="feed://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/forced-demolitions/feed/" entries="10">
== [{PERMALINK} {TITLE}] ==
'''{DATE}, by {AUTHOR}'''
</feed>

[[Category: Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon]]