Zhao Hong/Wen During the National Day holiday, more than 100000 tourists flooded into Qilian County, Qinghai Province in a single day, bringing huge reception pressure to this small town with a permanent population of only 50000. Due to limited reception capacity of hotels and homestays, the local cultural and tourism department has activated emergency plans and opened school dormitories overnight as public welfare beds to accommodate stranded tourists.

This move quickly sparked controversy: one side believes that the temporary resettlement measures of Qilian County Cultural and Tourism Bureau have solved the urgent needs of tourists and won favor for the local tourism industry; Opponents believe that student dormitories are not ownerless public spaces, and even if they are idle during holidays, cultural and tourism departments cannot arbitrarily requisition them without the consent of students.

These disputes involve the definition of ownership of student dormitories, as well as the legality evaluation and boundary issues of government emergency resettlement measures; Its ultimate goal is how the government should balance its interests properly when conflicts arise.

Firstly, from the perspective of rights ownership, school collective dormitories are primarily public educational resources and are not private residences in nature. Therefore, cultural and tourism departments can include them in the scope of emergency requisition. On the other hand, after students pay the required fees and move in, the dormitory is no longer a public property that can be disposed of by the school or public department at will - students have the legally protected right to use the dormitory. This right of use includes the exclusive right to the bed, as well as the right to personal property and privacy in the dormitory not to be disturbed or destroyed by others.

Starting from this, if the local cultural and tourism department needs to use student dormitories, in principle, the consent of the students should be obtained. The saying 'wind energy enters, rain enters, but the king cannot enter' also applies here. The cultural and tourism department disposed of the property of students without their consent, which not only disregards their rights but also poses a risk of illegal activities. If students find their personal belongings damaged or lost after returning to school, they also have the right to demand compensation from the cultural and tourism department.

Secondly, the practical basis and legal boundaries of public expropriation. The staff of Qilian County Tourism Bureau said that the sudden explosion of Highway 9 in the county resulted in a much higher than expected passenger flow; Since October 2nd, the cultural and tourism department has been continuously receiving calls for help from tourists, and at this time, relying solely on the remaining scattered beds in the market is no longer enough to fill the accommodation gap; In addition, during the National Day holiday, the local temperature dropped sharply, and the sports hall, which is usually used as a public welfare resettlement site, cannot be used. Therefore, it is urgent to use the vacant student dormitories during the holiday.

These explanations seem to indicate that this emergency requisition is legitimate and reasonable.

The so-called emergency requisition refers to the situation where, in the event of an emergency, the government, in accordance with the law, forcibly obtains the right to possess and use the property or services of the counterparty for the purpose of public interest, and returns or provides reasonable compensation afterwards. Due to the mandatory nature of expropriation, there is a conflict between it and the requirement mentioned earlier that "the use and disposal of dormitories generally require the consent of students".

The core consideration in handling conflicts is whether the cultural and tourism department has the legal conditions for emergency requisition. The Emergency Response Law stipulates that "the people's governments at or above the county level and their departments may requisition the equipment, facilities, venues, transportation vehicles and other property of units and individuals to meet the urgent needs of emergencies. The requisitioned property shall be returned in a timely manner after use or emergency response work is completed. If the property is requisitioned or damaged or lost after requisition, fair and reasonable compensation shall be given. This regulation is relatively rough, but it also basically clarifies the subject of emergency requisition, the objects to be requisitioned, the legal prerequisites for requisition, and post disposal. So to evaluate whether the emergency requisition in Qilian County is legal, it depends on whether it meets the "urgent needs to respond to emergencies" stipulated in this article, whether it "promptly returns the requisitioned property" after requisition, and whether it provides fair and reasonable compensation for the damaged or lost property.

In response to the dispute, the Qilian County Bureau of Culture and Tourism specifically stated that the staff had packed and moved out the students' personal belongings when arranging for tourists, and had also taken photos of the original appearance of the dormitory before moving out. In order to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and other public health risks, the emergency management department also dispatched brand new bed sheets and pillowcases as soon as possible to avoid direct damage to students' belongings. After the tourists left the student dormitory, the cultural and tourism department and the school also organized manpower to quickly restore the original appearance of the dormitory and complete the sanitary disinfection and sterilization. If the above situation is true, it can indeed alleviate the public's doubts about the legality of the cultural and tourism department's unauthorized opening of student dormitories to accommodate tourists to a certain extent.

However, the public has different opinions on this incident, which precisely reflects that in public places, people no longer easily accept the logic of "sacrificing personal interests at will just for the reputation and public image of the city". This also reminds us that in the face of emergencies, the approach of "direct requisition and rapid landing" needs to be carefully considered; Government departments should fully consider private interests while meeting public interests, and strike a proper balance and handle diverse demands in order to truly highlight the level of urban governance and accumulate long-term reputation for the development of the tourism industry.

(The author is a professor at Peking University Law School)

(Author's Commentary)