Penalty for Maligning a Building’s Feng Shui

A Chinese court has ordered a media company to pay nearly $30,000 to a real estate developer after it published an article that suggested a flashy building in Beijing violated the ancient laws of fengshui and would bring misfortune to its occupants. The Chaoyang District People’s Court in Beijing ruled on Wednesday that the media company, Zhuhai Shengun Internet Technology, had damaged the reputation of the building’s developers, SOHO China, one of the largest real estate companies in China. SOHO China sued Zhuhai Shengun last fall after it published a critical blog post about the Wangjing SOHO, a trio of sleek towers in northeast Beijing designed by the renowned architect Zaha Hadid.