Migrant workers take to streets of Beijing to protest against forced evictions
Rally in Chaoyang district comes as unofficial residents complain of unfair treatment in wake of deadly blaze in Chinese capital
Dozens of people took to the streets of northeastern Beijing on Sunday morning to protest against being evicted from their homes, according to witnesses and social media posts.
The incident, in the village of Feijia in Chaoyang district, close to Beijing’s Capital International Airport, followed the capital government’s controversial handling of a safety campaign in Daxing district last month that left tens of thousands of migrant workers homeless.
Protesters shouted, “forced eviction violates human rights”, while others held up home-made banners repeating the message.
How the mass eviction of migrant workers has left Beijing reeling
Authorities in Feijia are in the process of evicting people living in unauthorised dwellings following a deadly fire in Daxing on November 18 that left 19 people dead.
A 40-day campaign was launched in the wake of the blaze, supposedly to eliminate safety hazards in warehouses and apartment compounds, where migrant workers had created makeshift homes.
A resident surnamed Wang who runs a shop with his wife in Feijia, said the protest started on the village’s main street at 9am. All those without Beijing residents’ permits, including the couple, had been told to vacate their homes, he said.