"More than 100 displaced northern Laos families refuse resettlement" 9 November 2023

More than 100 families in northern Laos displaced by the Laos-China Railway have refused to move into newly constructed resettlement villages, a statement from the chairman of the State Audit Organization said...

Though the authorities are pushing the displaced people to move into their new homes, many are hesitant because the new villages lack fertile land for farming...

“The new place is also too far away from the city, markets and schools,” one resident said. “It’s too far. There is no land to farm. It’s just a house in which we can sleep. We can’t do anything else.”...

In his statement, the chairman of the State Audit Organization said that most of the compensation has been paid to the people who were affected and displaced by the construction of the Laos-China Railway.

The Laos-China Railway Company is meant to pay a total of 1,844 billion kip (US$89 million) to all the affected villagers. So far, about 1,552 billion kip ($75 million) has been paid to 6,073 families and about 695 families have not yet been paid.