Is Beijing the Best Domiciliary City?Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/cnforbiddennews Like us on FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/chinaforbiddennews The UK-based Economist Intelligence Unit recently published a report on the most suitable cities for domicile, with eight Chinese cities listed, including Beijing, which leads the way. However, the list is widely questioned by the Chinese people, who believe Beijing still leaves much to be desired, in terms of living costs, transportation, pollution and basic human rights. Artist Ai Weiwei once pointed out: "Beijing is a violent city." The survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit is conducted twice annually. According to its latest report released on Aug. 30, among the 140 cities polled globally, there are eight Chinese cities, with Beijing ranked at No. 72, followed by Suzhou, Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Dalian, Guangzhou and Qingdao. NTD reporters interviewed some Beijing residents and other related people and found that their responses are quite different from this report. Zhao Lianhai, parent of tainted milk powder victim, said: "Superficially, Beijing is a rather modern and advanced city, but in fact, ordinary folks living in this city actually suffer from many miseries. In my opinion, only those people of privilege or the wealthy people living in this city can live a normal life, but the everyday people cannot." The official Beijing statistics show that by the end of 2010, there are 4.8 million vehicles registered in Beijing, causing a serious traffic jam problem in Beijing. To alleviate the problem, Beijing authorities implemented a long-term policy of allowing the vehicles to run on the street on either the odd or even date according to their plate number. In April 2011, sand storms stroke in Beijing, causing the air quality to be below standard. The population in Beijing is near 20 million, with 5 million migrant workers. The skyrocketing housing prices have caused many people to have to live in a tiny space. Beijing resident, recently freed artist Ai Weiwei recently published an article on the Newsweek, indicating that Beijing is a city of violence and a lingering nightmare. Ai Weiwei said that in this city of "power and money", government officials and business CEOs live a luxurious life, but millions of migrant workers, who are engaged in the laborious work of building bridges, paving roads, and constructing high-rises, live in wretched bungalows. They behave like the slaves in Beijing without a basic social security. As the capital of China, Beijing has long been subject to the tight control of the authorities. As for whether Beijing is a suitable domicile, a native Beijing resident Zhou Zhong said that on every single sensitive day, police and guards fill the streets, giving people a feeling of terror. Under the one-party dictatorship, the living environment in Beijing is ever deteriorating, without any hope for improvement. Beijing resident Zhou Zhong: "The authorities say that the Chinese have 'inferior quality' and cannot enjoy democracy, human rights or election. So, the air quality standards also need to be scaled down accordingly, because Chinese are categorized as the 3rd class. In the international community, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has already placed us Chinese folks to the 3rd class." From the Tiananmen massacre in 1989 to the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in 1999, the CCP regime has carried out brutal suppressions in Beijing, causing this ancient capital city to be filled with blood. Recently, the Beijing regime held a high-handed policy towards rights activists and petitioners. Many rights lawyers including Gao Zhisheng, Xu Zhiyong, Jiang Tianyong, and Teng Biao have been arrested. Hu Jia, an advocate for AIDS victims, and Zhao Lianhai, parent of the victim of tainted milk powder, have been sentenced. Even the renowned artist Ai Weiwei was illegally detained for two months. Petitioner Liu Jie from Hubei: "In Beijing, people having power or money can live there. The ordinary folks will have no place to survive there. I have lived in Beijing for 10 years, but because of my petition activities, no landlords dare to rent any places for me to stay now." From mid June 2011, there are over 30 schools for the children of migrant workers forcibly torn down by the authorities for the reason of violating the zoning law, causing tens of thousands to be deprived of education. NTD reporters Chang Chun, Li Qian and Xiao Yu «??»2011??????? http://www.ShenYunPerformingArts.org/ code pour embarquer la vidéo : >>> http://www.youtube.com/embed/-OoB29LYCjQ <<< |