Preparation for Olympic Games in China reveals a normal case of social injustice

by Xiao Yan, Chinese Correspondent

	Picture taken from a tall building to show the area Di An Qu.

Beijing, the city capital of the new world’s power China, is a super-modern city, with high skyscrapers and modern streets. China has been transformed from large "development challenged" communist country in the most successful example of capitalist superpower.

Many people look at the Chinese economical miracle as a complete success of modernization and development. It is in fact undeniable that the face of China in the past 20 years has completely changed. This has meant a rising standard of living for many Chinese people.

Many people in China also thought that this economical development would bring "democractization". Isn't capitalism supposed to bring with it "democracy"? They are wrong. Here in China, the press is still under the strict control of the government. Human rights, is a concept far from becoming substantive in China, which seems to be developing "economically" in a capitalistocratic context, but not much humanly.

The only possibility of expression for a journalist who wants to talk about Chinese problems is writing on a foreign newspaper.

A day like others here in Beijing

Mr. Wang's wife, arguing with a police officer, which is trying to take away her protest banner.

This story begins a day like others here in Beijing, with me walking in the old Chinese streets called “HuTong”, seeing the beautiful scenery, that also attracts tourists to this part of China.

But, my beautiful relaxing day was dramatically interrupted when I saw a couple of policemen shouting. Just before, this group of policemen were pulling a white banner with big red letters from an old lady, that she was holding with all her strength. I stopped than, and I then asked the locals there, what was going on. The answer I got was:” the government wants to expropriate her house and she doesn’t want that done.”

It was incredible to see the face expression of the people there telling me this, because it looked like they saw many of these things happening, and so they were completely unflustered, almost resigned.

I stopped there and I started to take pictures, and right after seeing me with the camera, the police left.

I have to admit that at the beginning, I hesitated a bit to pull out my camera: I know how this things goes in China, here taking picture of the police, especially in this occasion, is not something you would suggest to anybody.

When the police left I asked the lady about what was going on, and she confirmed what previously the other people already told me.

I asked her then, to let me take pictures of her and the banners, and I left thinking that everything was over.

But it wasn’t. I went there the second day, because I had a feeling that something else would happen: and I was right.

I found out that the banner was not anymore there, and the lady either. I started asking around where the lady was and I found an old man who told me this story: a normal case of injustice.

A woman bitten up to defend her house designated to become a souvenir-shop

	Mr. Wang in its house (a very small place where he lives with his wife).

The man’s name is Wang-Chang Shun, and the lady I saw the day before arguing with the police is his wife.

This is their story...

After a time of several years working in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution, he returned to his old house in Beijing that belongs for generations to his family; he found out that while he was away, the government had expropriated his house and given his brother some money as a refund: all this without asking his permission.

Unfortunately his brother left with the money, and so far it seems doesn’t have any intention to give even a bit of it to his own brother, that is now without house, and with a wife and a daughter to rise up.

I asked Mr. Wang why the government wanted his house: he told me that they need it to open a shop for souvenirs like there are dozens in the same street where he lives (this area is located in the area Di An Qu, a place that is being forcibly expropriated in preparation for the next Olympic games in order to accommodate to many thousands of tourists).

But what happened to the banners, and his wife?

Mr. Wang's wife, putting up her banner.

When I was away some people sent by some government’s officials, like Mr. Wang says, have bitten up his wife, and took away the banner! Is not very difficult to imagine the reason of this episode of violence. The government’s officials don’t want to admit the mistake they committed giving the refund to only one of the house owner, without asking the permission of the other one as law says, and also they don’t want to let tourists know about these protest episodes in China, especially in a sensitive area like is this one, in the almost centre of the city, now in the year of the Olympics.

Is this a modern country?

	Door of Mr. Wang house with the protest banner.

Chinese leaders call China a modern country, which is ready to host the Olympic Games this year. But can a country where people are bitten up by guards, just because they oppose to the expropriation of their own house, be called a modern country?

The case of Mr. Wang and his wife is only one of the thousands cases like this, or even worse, that happened in China every day, always in the complete silence of the press, completely under the government’s control.

China needs to change and develop not only economically like it is already doing. China also needs to become a more free and democratic country, where people are not afraid to express their opinion, with accompanying affirmed human and civil rights.

Mr. Wang standing in front of the door of his house.

The voice of protest of Mr. Wang and his wife will not be heard by their co-nationals, Their protest will probably not last very long, leaving them without a house soon.

But not everything is done in vain: day by day more and more people rise up against an unfair model of development that leaves some people without house and everybody without human rights as a birthright and freedom.

China will only become truly developed, when the vital rights and freedoms of all Chinese people within this nation, are protected and affirmed.

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