Béijìng: 'Pre-Olympic Hutong Crisis' © 2007 William Kai Stephanos 中国

[ayanuhito]

same quite the same. when the olympic matches were held in Japan 1960s, and in Korea 1980s. quite the same things done here, too. money and money, too often not for the civics but for economics. but it's also true many people enjoyed the changes those days. not all the people enjoyed it though.. because of the ways our govts took, then..

[unit45x]

good point...there is no easy answer for re-development...

[GrrlGrowler]

Some hutongs are slated for demolition, while some are preserved. It's exactly the kind of thing cities like Paris and New York had to go through in order to proceed with modern development and accomodation of increasing population. I support these challenging efforts, and thanks goodness for Serfs Emancipation Day!

[unit45x]

Serf Emancipation Day is scheduled on the same day as Tibet's Uprising Day, funny how the CCP is trying to silence the voice of the Tibetans and force their propaganda on the masses. My question is when is 'Han Peasant Emancipation Day' coming? Stupid me, that would mean they would first have to be emancipated...

[GrrlGrowler]

China has lifted 200 million people out of poverty over the last decade which is a feat unparalled in human history, and any peasant emancipation in China has already started. Just be patient, and let the wisdom of the Chinese people carry them through.

Ans yes, you are EXACTLY what you say you are! Thanks for the old hutong tour! I've actually seen worse, which were thankfully renovated.

[hcn9]

when are the natives gonna get their land back??

[240kankan]

@hcn9 these people in the vedios were very lucky.they could get a house somewhere else.

[nzgav]

To see what the Chinese Communist Party and their spammer army are desperate to hide watch

Tibet: A Buddhist Nun Tells Her Story

Youtube . com/watch?v=mhrgb1PHodU

where 15 teenage nuns were imprisoned, tortured and 14 died. The survivor tells her story. Tell your friends.

If there is a video with a better account of how bad things are in Tibet?

Magnietuit, asilcotza, ThelandIIove, hcn9 and FreetheTruth1 are the spammers I see most often. Chinas finest. Get a life or a job.

Thank you

[240kankan]

@nzgav i will tell you another story.the best way to know china is to visit china and talk to people.

[HumanRightsVideosT]

@240kankan

A number of my relations went to China and they came back brainwashed. That's what happens in a military state where the media is well and truly under control.

[240kankan]

@240kankan haha,they came back brainwashed?interseting.have you been to china before?if you havent been to china for a couple of years,i suggest you come to china again.siginificant change has taken place in the last 10 years.i cannot believe it myself .the chinese are extremely friendly to foreign friends.welcome to china.we wont let you down.

[unit45x]

@240kankan All the common people I met in China were very friendly and hospitable to me.

[nzgav]

"[Tibet] is entirely closed & witnesses unimaginable things. In March 2008, 20,000 people disappeared with no trace during the upraising in Tibet. Individuals attempting to escape over the border are being shot like in a shooting-range.

We saw filmed material & photos taken out by refugees of Tibet. If a shown to a wider audience, all worldwide human rights institutions would unanimously respond to this crime against humanity."

--Vytautas Landsbergis

Lithuanian film-maker, 9/3/2008

[nzgav]

Tibetans are subject to arbitrary arrest and detention

Torture still prevails in Chinese prisons and detention centres

Enforced disappearances, where a person is taken into custody and the details of their detention are not disclosed, continue to occur.

The 11-year-old 11th Panchen Lama has been missing since his status was announced in 1995.

Today, it appears the Chinese are using Tibet as a dumping ground for their, and foreign, nuclear waste.

tibet(.)net

(Central Tibetan Administration)

[unit45x]

August 10, 2008 BEIJING (AP): Activists breached heavy security in Tiananmen Square for a protest at the Olympics but were confronted by angry Chinese as they wrapped themselves in Tibetan flags and spoke about freedom in Tibet.The five members of Students for a Free Tibet clasped each others' hands and walked around the square around noon Saturday,chanting "Freedom for Tibet" and "One World, One Dream, Free Tibet"-a play off a Beijing Olympics motto.

[unit45x]

The protesters, 3 American, a Canadian and a German, were calling for an end to China's occupation in Tibet. While the demonstration was initially regarded with curiosity by onlookers, a group of young Chinese men suddenly started shouting "Get out! Get out!'' and surrounded the foreigners. Some wore red and yellow headbands, China's national colors.

[unit45x]

They eventually were separated from the protesters by men who appeared to be plainclothes security agents and were led away.A representative of Students for a Free Tibet said he did not know where they were taken.

[unit45x]

Aug 7 2008 Three American Christian activists were dragged off Tiananmen Square and detained in Beijing after staging a protest over religious freedom and human rights for the second day running.

[unit45x]

Aug 9 2008 URUMQI China (AP) A series of pre-dawn bombings killed or wounded at least four people in a region of western China, state media said. Witnesses reported that explosions hit government offices and public security and military police posts. The agency said witnesses reported seeing flashes of fire and heard gun shots following the explosions. Xinhua said local military sources confirmed the incident and said they have deployed forces to the area which was sealed off by police.

[unit45x]

Aug 9, 2008 Beijing -- An American closely connected to the U.S. Olympic volleyball program was stabbed to death Saturday and his two companions were wounded, before their Chinese assailant leapt to his own death off the 13th-century Drum Tower just north of the Forbidden City in Beijing.

[itsabird]

what does this have to do with China's government and social issues? that was one incident where they guy was clearly off his rocker. if you're going to criticize please bring up legit points instead of looking for any bad thing that happens in china and using it as a sounding board.

[pianoman74]

Well you want to know some of the REAL stories? People held like zoo animals behind bars?

Then watch this: watch?v=8J5yQIihljE

[unit45x]

The Chinese government can't tolerate criticism. They rely on falsehood for their survival and censor the truth.

Falsehood must rely on violence, censorship and suppression of truth to survive. Without that it will vanish like darkness faced with light.

When human rights are suppressed, when people are jailed - or worse - for expressing opinions, how dare anyone suggest that we shouldn't shine a light on these atrocities.

I say bring on the (non-violent) protests and boycotts.

[unit45x]

You can watch on TV from Canada with awe!

[unit45x]

An Injustice anywhere is an Injustice Everywhere!!!

[SeattleDragon]

Love your Tibet video clips, not sure about this one, Beijing has been re constructing itself for the past decades. This is how a city envolves, tear down the old houses, replace with new ones.

I also see a group of ppl taking the vidoe, don't understand.

[unit45x]

I understand reconstruction, it is just that the people, the poor people, are being evicted and expelled from their homes and the city in a very unequitable way. It is sad. All the homes (Hutongs) in this video have now been demolished to make way for Multi-million dollar development by transnational corporations. Most of them were centuries old. I wonder where these people are now(?).

The people you are referring to are students that were with me that got caught in the video by accident.

[unit45x]

I will put up more videos like this in the future when I get them edited/produced.

[SeattleDragon]

Where are those (Hutong) locate? Last time I heard was they are trying to protect the Hutong in the inner Beijing city. Well it was a few years ago.

They are paid to move out at a fair price per square meter.

Hutong is a great heritage, but also have its problems, like sewer system, water system, narrow road blocks emergency vehicles.

Like in one of your scenes, If fire breaks out at night in that Chinese traditional courtyard, it will be chaos, especially with lots of elders lives in.

[unit45x]

These Hutongs are right in the center of the old city wall. There has been mass destruction of the Hutongs prior to the Olympics. Like you said, it is a complicated issue. The Hutongs the government have saved have become quite commercialized.

[547212436]

they are not being forciably expeldled, they are being bought out, theres a diffirence,

and although i feel for them , such a argument is hippocrictical because that is just the way the river flows

[unit45x]

How do you know they are not being forcibly evicted? Please cite your sources. What is it to be bought out? ..especially if the new building construction is worth muti-millions of dollars? What is the hypocritical argument you are talking about? Why do you live in Canada instead of China? Why must the poor settle for a small amount of money for their homes and be forced out? It seems unfair?

[547212436]

i live in canada because my relitives lived in canada for 3 generations, i have no control over where i am born.

secondly the hipocracy is that more people are being forcibly evicted by buying out or somthing similar in every city. in my city alone, around 600 downtown east side residents have been evicted without much reason other than the owners had sold the property to developers. they only had 3 day's notice as well and poliece were there to enforce the order. what goes up must come down

[unit45x]

That is not a hypocracy, that is an injustice. Maybe you are just unwilling to call it what it is. Why are you defending it???

That, I think, is the real hypocracy. And quite an easy position to take from Canada of all places...shame shame!!!

We are talking about real people, on both sides. You are cold.

[547212436]

the truth can not be elected, what is is wahat is, there is no action without both positive and negative effects, if you are a pesimist and focus on the negative, then im really sorry for you, i have donated and volunteered for groups that aid them but the world is constantly changing. those who cant keep up will fall and theres not much you can or should do

[unit45x]

You never cited any sources. I would like to know if you have any. Really. I am not sure if these people get anything at all. Maybe they just get evicted and thrown on the streets. With the olympics, all the street people are being forced out of Beijing. Some of those people could be the evicted Hutong people. I wonder??? Maybe China is just lying to the world. I wonder??

[unit45x]

So you think poor people are poor because they are weaker than the rich? I do not ascribe to that archaic viewpoint. I say the poor are actually stronger than the rich in most ways. The people of China will rise up one day!

[sandraleehappy]

Thank you!!

[SeattleDragon]

I am surprise that you beilieve that there is no rule when take properties away from people. It is a common sense, the sources are every where. Go to google, search for 北京拆迁费, you will see a few Q&A on Baidu. and related policy posted on govt website.

Now, you should as your source about ppl been forced out without receiving a penny, can you cite any of those source? It is totally against common sense.

also google "北京拆迁法"

[unit45x]

I don't think rules are followed. Rules are for breaking. It is common sense.