Districts targeted for development and evictions include: (in alphabetical order) Dongcheng, Chaoyang, Chongwen, Fengtai, Haidian, Shijingshan, Xicheng and Xuanwu – most of the city. Human Rights groups have claimed: the evictions are characterized by a lack of formal process; and that tenants are often given little or no notice, and little or no compensation.
It is not uncommon to hear about, or even see, cases of tenants refusing to leave their homes, despite new constructions being approved, and demolition of the site being initiated. These last ‘strongholds’ can be seen clinging to a way of life, even as the rest of a building crumbles around them.
What we can hope to find at the dawn of the Olympics is a spanking new city, full of office buildings, shopping centres, modern apartment complexes, and newly widened roads, overlaying the Beijing that was – its dusty, picturesque alleys, full of hutongs and small-time vendors.
.gongtiyuchan dajie, sanlitun (foto: noveno colectivo)
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