February 27, 2008

Center on Housing Rights protests evictions for Beijing Olympic Games

Group claims China is forcing 13,000 people each month from their homes

GENEVA

China continues to evict 13,000 people each month in preparation for the Beijing Olympics, despite worldwide attention and increased scrutiny, a housing rights group charges.

The Center on Housing Rights and Evictions said a recent trip to the Chinese capital confirmed an estimate it made earlier this year that 1.5 million people would be displaced by the time the 2008 Games are held.

Beijing says the group is grossly inflating the number of people being relocated as a result of the Olympic preparations.

“Despite courageous protests inside China, and condemnation by many international human rights organizations, the Beijing municipality and Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games have persisted with these evictions” said Jean du Plessis, the Geneva-based COHRE’s deputy director.

The group, which claimed in June that 1.25 million had already been displaced, said it returned to Beijing in August and found that forced evictions were continuing unabated. In September, the Beijing municipality demolished several buildings in a run-down neighbourhood called the “petitioners’ village” in Fengtai District, which provided housing for thousands from all over China who came to complain to the central government about land seizures, forced evictions and corruption, COHRE said.

Associated Press

Print | Email | Comment