He heads a small design company in China's business hub of Shanghai, drives a nice car and until recently owned a spacious flat where he lived with his wife and nephew.

But Qi's status as a responsible member of the community took a turn for the worse when he dared challenge police and government officials from the Coordination Bureau of the Shanghai World Expo over the requisition of his property.

His appeal to win fair market value for his flat at Xueye Estates, which like many neighbourhood blocks in Shanghai is being demolished to make way for the 2010 World Expo, was instead met with intimidation and violence.

Two years ago, Shanghai Communist Party boss Chen Liangyu led a successful charm offensive to convince the Paris-based International Bureau of Expositions (IBE) that his city was worthy of holding the prestigious 183-day world fair.

His flashy, professional presentation put forward a massive redevelopment plan -- the city's biggest ever -- to ensure that 18,000 families forced to move, including nearly 11,000 in Pudong, the Expo's main site covering 5.28 square kilometres (2.1 square miles), would be taken care of.

With a budget of 28.7 billion yuan (3.5 billion dollars), the urban plan would not only give international cache and a financial boost to this already rapidly modernising city but also beautify and reinvigorate rundown neighbourhoods.

On the cool December night in 2002 that Shanghai beat four other international cities for the right to host the Expo, China's financial centre erupted in celebration, with proud residents partying until dawn.

But the party is long over and as Shanghai tries to surmount the project's tough challenges, thousands of residents have come forward to accuse the government of breaking the promises it made to the IBE.

On nearly a weekly basis, desperate Shanghai residents contact foreign news organisations like AFP complaining that the government regularly uses intimidation and force to solve urban relocation disputes.

Hoodlums, hired by real estate or demolitions companies, threaten and beat residents, while police stand by or turn a blind eye, they say. Party officials ignore residents petitions.

State media reports only the official line, similar to what Zhao Jianneng, deputy director of the petition office of Pudong district government, told AFP.

"The whole relocation project is moving along very smoothly," Zhao said. "As far as I know, there are no rights violations," he said.

"Ten thousands of families have moved so far -- if it is unfair how come they are willing to move?"

The problem, however, is endemic throughout the city, as old, dilapidated housing makes way for expensive high-rises that common citizens cannot afford because they have been inadequately compensated in the face of soaring real estate prices.

Residents whose activism becomes a thorn in the side of authorities are often arrested on trumped up charges, rights groups say.

They point to the cases of property activists Xu Zhengqing, imprisoned for three years for "picking quarrels", and lawyer Zheng Enchong jailed for "divulging state secrets".

-- Police pressure --

Qi's attempts to organise 400 families against the forced eviction in Xueye were met with official threats, police intimidation and a beating by a group of 20 thugs, allegedly linked to the Shanghai Expo office, he said.

"You'd better watch out, otherwise well break your ribs," one assailant told Qi during one of many confrontations between residents, police and developers.

Residents also accuse police of indiscriminate detentions, such as befell Lu Fengyu, 52, who was held for seven days without a warrant for her arrest.

"I had a quarrel with two people (a man and woman from the demolishing company). They pushed me to the ground. The next day police came and took me away accusing me of having hit people," she said.

Lu is now sueing the Pudong Public Security bureau for detaining her without legal documentation.

Qi, who was also arrested, said one officer threatened: "We police have all kinds of measures, you might not believe it, but now I could just detain you for 15 days."

Forced to sign an agreement saying he would no longer petition higher government officials, an infuriated Qi countered with a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao.

He demanded that officials abide by the law that the central government espouses.

"What we ordinary citizens are trying to do is just protect our legal rights," he said in the letter dated April 18. "Police are, in broad daylight, hurting and threatening ordinary people."

A swift response from Pudong official Zhao led Qi to believe that the appeal came close to hitting the mark, ruffling feathers in Shanghai.

"What kind of filthy letters did you write?" Qi claimed Zhao asked him. "Do you think that is effective? Those were all forwarded to me so now what are you going to do. Whatever you do you will always be under my control."

Nevertheless, Zhao agreed to negotiate and said: "Lets not talk about policy and regulation, lets talk about what you want, well try our best to satisfy you."

Earlier, a government appraisal agency estimated his 90-square-metre flat to be worth 8,700 yuan (1,075 dollars) per square metre, sparking the disagreement.

Qi demanded 15,000 yuan per square metre, a price he believes is fair market value compared to the costs of apartments across the street.

A spokesman with the Expo bureau said Qi had been offered an 183 square metre flat but had refused.

"Hes asking for the compensation of land rights, which is too much," the official said. "We all know that in our country land is owned by the country and never owned by any single person."

However, Qi bought his land for 220,000 yuan in 1999, which entitles him, according to a property clause enshrined in the Marxist Constitution in 2004, to 70 years of ownership rights.

Asked by AFP if he had threatened Qi, Zhao said: "Qi is just cooking up stories." Police refused repeated requests for interviews.

On the last of AFP's visits to Xueye on October 17, Sincere Trust Demolition Company, which is connected to the Pudong government's Construction Bureau, had already gutted most of the six-story buildings.

Only nine families remained, bunkered down and refusing to move.

Their reasons were all related to compensation and rights.

There was Fan Guijuan, who said her husband had been laid-off and she could not afford the 70,000 yuan cash downpayment for the subsidised apartment offered by the government. "I don't know what I will do," she said.

Chen Junlin, 58, a retired steel worker, said: "I just want my legal rights upheld, you can't cheat us in the name of the World Expo."

And there was Song Shitai, 60, who was livid at the way demolition workers had cut his water pipes, then dug a whole in the bottom of his living room, before days later breaking his front door and manhandling his wife, he said.

"I want justice," demanded the 17-year resident of Xueye.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

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