China’s darker side

China is preparing for this year’s Olympic Games but human rights appear not to be a priority.

The regime can’t suddenly disappear beggars from central Beijing and local bloggers are revealing the extent of the problem:

To the east of Zhengyangmen, there is an old railway station which used to be one part of Beijing-Shenyang railroad. A wide road is built before the station’s front gate facing to the west. Although the name of the road is unclear by now, it is really wide enough. Recently, in order to renovate the area outside the Qianmen, the Qianmen Road was completely blocked. As a result, this road has become the important passageway between the inner and outer city. Where the road has passed through was formerly the area of Xianyukou. To hoodwink the public, the real estate businessman has built a tracery wall by the road to cover up the construction site. Treasured bottles, jade fans and eight-treasures lattice windows which are carved by traditional Chinese Painting essays are falsely “inlaid” on the wall”¦It looks very beautiful, but behind it, there is hidden an undercurrent society, which no one cares and no one wants to care. This is what I said the number one gathering place of the tramps in the capital. Passing the entrance of the wall, I come to this vagrants’ paradise”¦

Text and images ©2024 Antony Loewenstein. All rights reserved.

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