There is no way for them to protect their rights. Still, the tenants' movement has made some advances. For one thing, state organizations now feel obliged to give reasons for any eviction and offer better compensation. The residents are even winning the backing of some modern-minded bureaucrats. What we're doing is acting to improve the legal system.
China has no hope.
The authorities have been reluctant to clamp down on the self-taught legal eagles, not least because the activists insist on adhering to the law and expect others to follow it as well. Indeed, property disputes could have turned violent if it were not for people like Luo and Jia. But activists like Jia eventually convinced him there were better ways to seek justice. If I resorted to violence I might hurt an innocent person. Still, the leaders of the tenants' movement are cautious.