Ways That Are Dark

Yesterday Beijing observed the one-year countdown to the 2008 Olympics with fireworks and dancing in Tiananmen Square. Sun Ruoyu lives a few blocks away in a two-story building that has belonged to her ancestors since the 1840s. Miss Sun is guarding her home with her life because local officials want to evict her. A bulldozer waits outside for an opportune moment to begin demolition.

In the article In Beijing, a Little Building Is Defying Olympic Ambitions, The New York Times reports that a “recent study by a European research institute estimated that 1.5 million people would be evicted or displaced in Beijing by the opening of the Olympics.” Local media has not reported on Miss Sun’s case, as forced evictions are a politically sensitive subject in China.

While Sun’s family has been offered compensation for their home and business, the money offerd has not been adequate.  The government wants to use the land her home is on to make a park for the Olympics. Afterwards the land will be developed as a residential and commercial area in what is expected to become one of the city’s priciest districts.

Miss Sun has said:

No matter what they offer, I won’t be able to afford an apartment here. I want to be able to live here. They’ve used the Olympics to strip people of their property. They’re doing things against the spirit of the Olympics.

Read the complete Times article: In Beijing, a Little Building Is Defying Olympic Ambitions.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 9th, 2007 at 1:03 pm and is filed under Olympic Coverage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.