Beijingers protest against forced evictions

On Monday, Beijing residents gathered at Qianmen Dajie, in Chongwen District, to demonstrate against forced evictions and the demolishing of houses in this area. Their claims, however, are dismissed by the state-owned People's Daily, which quotes an interview with Zhong Yongming, deputy chief of the Chongwen District Government: "96 percent of the residents who used to live in the old Qianmen area, featuring poor public works, serious safety problems and dilapidated housing, were pleased with the upgrading project in the area and the solutions offered to rehouse them". Taiwan News Online reports that: "Police officers did not interfere, but women who said they were members of a neighborhood committee pushed and led the protesters away from the area".