A compulsory purchase order is a legal function (CPO in the United Kingdom) that allows certain bodies which need to obtain land or property to do so without the consent of the owner. It may be enforced if a proposed development is considered one for public betterment – for example – when building motorways where a land owner does not want to sell. An elderly couple in the Chinese province of Zhejiang refused to sign an agreement to allow their house to be demolished. They say that compensation offered is not enough to cover rebuilding costs. As a result their house sits awkwardly in the middle of a newly built road in Wenling.