To China Railway Real Estate (中铁置业): Do not become executioners—do not let a problematic corridor become a life-threatening hazard!

Dear leaders of China Railway Real Estate and the Hongqiao Yidu project team:

Since early June, upon discovering that the connecting corridor in our community poses safety risks, we immediately reported our concerns to the project team and the Construction Management Committee. However, the worries of over one thousand homeowners regarding falling objects from the corridor and the potential for children to climb on it—issues that directly concern personal safety—were not taken seriously. Instead, we were told that the construction meets building standards. Yet when it comes to safeguarding lives, we cannot wait until tragedy strikes before taking action! We firmly believe that the primary goal of construction standards is to protect lives. Even one life lost would bring irreparable devastation to several families.

Safety is no small matter! The corridor is meant to serve as an emergency passage in critical moments. However, China Railway Real Estate has repeatedly ignored its social responsibility despite numerous warnings from homeowners, allowing the defective corridor to widen its potential risk to human life. This has infuriated all homeowners. Therefore, once again, we solemnly call upon China Railway Real Estate: Do not take a chance and trample on the bottom line of safety! Prevent problems before they arise—rectify the defective corridor immediately! This is the unwavering bottom line for the 1,128 households in our community.

Below are the relevant laws and regulations on which our appeal is based:

1. Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China

• Article 1202: Where any harm is caused to another person by a product defect, the producer shall bear tort liability.
• Article 1203: Where any harm is caused to another person by a product defect, the injured party may claim compensation from the producer of the product or from the seller of the product.
• Article 1207: If a producer or seller knowingly produces or sells a defective product, or fails to take effective remedial measures as provided in the preceding article, causing death or serious harm to human health, the injured party has the right to request corresponding punitive damages.
• Article 1165: Where a person infringes upon the civil rights and interests of another person due to his own fault and causes damage, he shall bear tort liability.

2. Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests

• Article 7 [Right to Personal and Property Safety]: Consumers enjoy the right to personal and property safety from damage when purchasing or using commodities and receiving services. Consumers have the right to demand that commodities and services provided by business operators meet the requirements for protection of personal and property safety.
• Article 19 [Obligation to Take Measures for Products and Services with Defects]: Where a business operator discovers that the commodities or services it provides are defective and may endanger personal or property safety, it shall immediately report to the relevant administrative department and inform consumers, and take measures such as stopping sales, issuing a warning, recalling, harmless treatment, destruction, or ceasing production or services. Where recall measures are taken, the business operator shall bear the necessary expenses incurred by consumers due to the recall of commodities.

3. Regulations on the Quality Management of Construction Projects

• Article 74: Where construction entities, design entities, construction contractors, or project supervision entities violate state regulations and reduce the quality standards of a project, causing a major safety accident that constitutes a crime, the persons directly responsible shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to the law.

4. Product Quality Law of the People’s Republic of China

• Article 26: Producers shall be responsible for the quality of the products they produce. Products must comply with the national or industrial standards for ensuring human health and personal and property safety.
• Article 34: Sellers shall take measures to maintain the quality of products for sale.

Responsibility for safety is a fundamental obligation. It is not waived by the mere appearance of compliance with national standards!

Once again, we solemnly call on China Railway Real Estate to fulfill its responsibilities and take swift, positive action to address the safety issues with the corridor. This is not only a responsibility owed to the 1,128 families but also a matter of upholding the dignity of the law and preserving the final shred of decency for a central state-owned enterprise.

We also call on the national and Shanghai municipal government departments to pay attention to this matter and to intervene to ensure that the necessary remediation measures are taken. We believe that government involvement will help resolve this issue fairly and transparently, ensuring that the safety of residents’ lives is genuinely protected.

Attachments:

1. The corridor designed by China Railway that is easy for children to climb.

2. Judicial rulings related to similar designs.
We firmly believe that no parent would ever want to witness a tragedy like the one shown below.😭

3. News reports on safety accidents involving similar designs.