The Guangdong Provincial High People's Court, an appellate court, has agreed to hear the largest compensation case ever filed by a citizen against the government.

Plaintiff Chen Jinhong, an entrepreneur, is claiming compensation of 170 million yuan (US$20.6 million) from the Foshan Municipal Bureau of Economy and Trade. He received written confirmation on Tuesday that the court had accepted his case.

Chen, who has been seeking compensation for eight years and has a team of 13 lawyers to represent him, said he is confident of the outcome.

Chen first filed the lawsuit with the Foshan Intermediate People's Court on April 15, 1996.

In 1986, he had invested 200,000 yuan (US$24,000) in setting up an interior decoration company, which was attached to the Foshan Municipal Bureau of Economy and Trade. The bureau removed Chen from his position with the company in March 1996, when the firm was worth more than 62 million yuan (US$7.3 million). He lost all power over his own firm and its subsidiaries.

Chen filed the first lawsuit a month later, but the Foshan Intermediate People's Court dismissed his claim in June 2000. He immediately appealed to the Guangdong High People's Court, which remanded the case to the Foshan intermediate court in July 2001.

The first hearing on Chen's case was held on June 24, 2002.

In November, the court ruled that the Foshan Municipal Bureau of Economy and Trade had acted illegally to remove Chen from his firm and he was reinstated, but his entire claim for compensation was denied.

Chen again appealed, this time to both the Guangdong high court and the Supreme People's Court. His appeals were denied, but Chen renewed them after the nation's Constitution was amended earlier this year. The amendments included clauses specifically protecting private and individual property.

Lawyer Chen Zijing said that he believes Chen will not win the amount of money claimed, but does think the award will set a record for damage claims against the government.

(China Daily August 11, 2004)