Lingering Questions
Ever since she was sued, Li has been asking two questions: why does Ma have the right to sue her now that he's also an urban resident (Ma is now employed by a home for the elderly in Jixian, Tongxian)? Why can't urban residents buy houses in rural areas?

To Wang and many other artists, the judge's decision was built on shaky legal ground, "The court bases its decisions on document no. 391, released by the High Court of Beijing in 2004"

These views were expounded upon in a letter to the municipal government leaders on July 31st 2007, which was jointly signed by 315 artists in Songzhuang. In the letter, the artists expressed their skepticism over the use of government documents such as "instructions" and "circulars", which are not legally authoritative, as a technical basis for adjudication. They called for the adherence to rule of law and administrative regulations issued by the State Council.

The letter also points out that the definitions of real estate property, rural housing land property and the right to use this land are ambiguous, and that this has led to inconsistencies in court decisions related to rural property.

Regarding Li's two questions, the EO tried to interview the two above-mentioned courts but was declined. On January 9th, a source at Tongzhou court told the EO that Li's accusation against Ma has been put on record, but the time for trial has yet to be set.

The Songzhuang of Tomorrow
After the second instance of Li's case, CCTV anchor Bai Yansong said something  that Songzhuang locals could not ignore: "The farmers won the lawsuit, but lost their honest."

Judges in the second intermediate court of Beijing and the Tongzhou court, accompanied by Wang, visited Songzhuang on December 25th 2007. Seeing the places the artists having been living, they sighed, "the conditions are not as good as we originally imagined."

Tongzhou government's concern is that an increase in the number of such cases could harm the town's economic development.

In fact, the town has been taking advantage of its artist migrants and developing its culture industry since 2004. So far, not only has it been one of the ten cultural bases and animation bases in Beijing, but also has an income of 320 million yuan from its culture industry.

To avoid more lawsuits, village leaders were called in and demanded to intervene in the disputes. Moreover, the EO has learned that "thanks to efforts by the town government, the court has promised not to accept such cases any more."
"I'm waiting for the notice from the court." After submitting her claim, Li goes back to the house which—according to the ruling—doesn't belong to her any more. She and her family were accommodated by a friend for the previous week, because "it was so cold here that the children fell ill," she recalls.

"Ruined! All ruined!" says Li. The glass on a wing-room's door has been shattered by wind. On a wall in a middle room, there hangs an unfinished painting by Li, which she says she has been unable to work on due to her mood.