Beijing Olympics Displacing 1.5M

13,000 a month evicted as Beijing prepares for Games
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 5, 2007 8:19 AM CST
Beijing Olympics Displacing 1.5M
The Chinese National Olympic Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, is seen reflected on a pond as it undergoes construction ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, in Beijing, China Tuesday, July 24, 2007. (AP Photo)   (Associated Press)

Construction projects under way for the Beijing Olympics have led to a massive number of displaced citizens—13,000 people each month, reports the AP. The Switzerland-based Center on Housing Rights and Evictions predicts that by the time the Games open next summer, 1.5 million Chinese will have been forced to move.

The organization accused Beijing of arbitrary decisions, lack of due process, and insufficient compensation for evictions—charges the Chinese housing authority vociferously denies. Last September thousands of poor people moved into a "petitioner's village" to protest the housing seizures, only to see the village bulldozed to the ground. Beijing insists the number of displaced residents is much lower. (More 2008 Beijing Olympics stories.)

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