Illegal ‘Great White House' Destroyed in Jinan

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By Tang Ziyi / Jan 21, 2019 03:27 PM / Society & Culture

Photo: VCG

A mysteriously empty luxury villa dubbed the “Great White House” is no more.

The building – a 2,000 square meter (21,500 square feet) illegally built villa located in a wealthy area of Jinan, the capital city of Shandong province – was demolished by the local government on Tuesday.

It took more than 300 people with four excavators to finish off the estate, and workers spent several hours moving out all its furniture.

It is still unclear who owned it. The building was reportedly built between 1998 and 2000, when China was attracting overseas investors to set up businesses to support opening up.

The Great White House has also provoked public discussion about whether more government officials will be held responsible, following the fall of former Shaanxi top official Zhao Zhengyong as a result of repeatedly ignoring central authorities' calls to demolish illegal luxury buildings.

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