A blog operator must pay $29,000 to a real estate developer for "defamation", a Chinese court has ruled after alleging a building complex had bad energy.

Published on the WeChat social network in November, the text said an office complex in Beijing brought bad luck to its business tenants because it does not respect feng shui principles.

Feng shui is a technique and belief inherited from ancient China that aims to maximise the energies of a place to maximise wellbeing, health and the luck of those inside.

Although somewhat in decline, it is still widely used to determine the placement and layout of buildings.

The "S Shenkunju S" blog took aim at the Wangjing Soho complex in the northeast of Beijing -- a group of three buildings that resemble large rounded pebbles, owned by developer Soho China.

The article compared the structures to "pig's kidneys" and predicted the business of companies inside will suffer a "Waterloo" -- the crushing defeat of the French Army by a British-led force in 1815.

According to the blog, which called on businesses to leave the premises, the proof these "outlandish" constructions are generating negative energy is the financial difficulties of the firms based there.

The article was widely shared online and garnered more than 100,000 views before being take down.

Lodging the complaint, the developer argued the post had a harmful impact on its business.

Beijing's Chaoyang district court on Wednesday agreed, ruling the feng shui "superstition" was used to defame the real estate group. The company behind the blog was ordered to pay the developer 200,000 yuan ($29,000) and apologise publicly.

The building complex was designed by multiple award winning architect Iraqi-British Zaha Hadid, who died in 2016.

Related Links
China News from SinoDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

China defends exit ban on human rights lawyer
Beijing (AFP) April 11, 2019
China on Thursday defended an exit ban imposed on a human rights lawyer as lawful after the United States urged Beijing to let him travel to receive a US fellowship. Chen Jiangang was selected to study English as part of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship, a programme named for the late vice president that provides a year of US education for emerging leaders from around the world. But the lawyer said he was pulled aside by customs at Beijing Capital airport as he prepared to board a flight to Sea ... read more