A college graduate in China’s southern Guangdong Province recently committed suicide by jumping from an 18 story building because a Chinese apartment rental company stole a year’s worth of rent money from him.
The company, Eggshell Apartments, functions as an intermediary between landlords and tenants. The company collects money from tenants to pay their landlords. Due in part to the pandemic, the company experienced financial issues and has not been paying landlords. As a result, many tenants faced eviction.
As one of the top companies of its kind, Eggshell serves 1 million renters in China. It’s currently listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Deceased college graduate Zhong Chunyuan’s roommate explained the situation to Chinese media. At the time, Zhong had yet to find a job after graduating. So he took out loans to pay for his rent for a year. But Zhong later received a notice from his landlord, saying the rent payment had not been received from Eggshell. He was told to move out within a week. Before committing suicide, he set his apartment on fire. He jumped off the building on the last day before his eviction.
Other victimized Eggshell Apartments tenants in Guangzhou planned to hold a memorial ceremony for Zhong on Saturday. They were discussing sending a white flower to the deceased to express condolences. But Chinese police soon stepped in, interrogating everyone who discussed the memorial. In the end, the memorial was canceled.
An inside source told us that local media were told they’re not allowed to investigate Eggshell Apartments.
China affairs scholar Xue Chi told us that Beijing also will not get involved.
“The Chinese Communist Party does not want to solve the problem, but to suppress the person who raised the problem. for example, the Eggshell Apartment incident, the apartment rent issues, there are many cases in China, a large group of victims. The Chinese Communist Party does not want to help the victims solve the matter. They fear that these victims will unite, so they suppress them. ”
Since the beginning of this year, Eggshell Apartments has experienced issues like broken financial chains, debt defaults, and evicted tenants.