PoliGazette » Bejing Protests Forces Evictions

Bejing Protests Forces Evictions

Filed under: Asia, Bejing 2008, China, Olympic Games, Sports — Michael van der Galien, Editor-in-Chief on August 4, 2008 @ 3:30 pm CEST

Just days before the opening of the Olympic Games in Bejing, a small group of the city’s residents protested against their forced eviction from their homes. The Chinese government quickly broke up the protest, afraid that allowing it will result in even more negative attention.

The protest took place on Monday in the historic Qianmen district of the Chinese capital, less than a kilometre from Tiananmen Square, scene of the 1989 pro-democracy protests which were crushed by the Chinese military.

The Qianmen area is in the process of being redeveloped from a rundown neighbourhood of traditional homes, known as hutongs, into a new commercial and shopping district.

Several residents tried to talk to the media, and especially foreign journalists, but they were quickly ’shouted down by others who were either local government officials or plainclothes police officers.’ Four of said residents were taken away by the police, after they tried to complain to the correspondent of Al Jazeera.

It is likely that we will read about more such protests, crackdowns and arrests in the coming weeks; the Chinese government is determined to present itself and its own country in a positive light. Whenever someone dares to air criticism, he will quickly be countered by government officials, pretending to be normal citizens. Protests will be broken up rapidly, individuals participating in them arrested.

One hopes that journalists will be able to report about such events. The more attention the West gives to the ill treatment of Chinese citizens, the more likely it is that China will allow more freedom.

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