Shenzhen: Migrant Workers’ Homes Burned as “Illegal Structures” – Zhang Junyan (º†‰øäÂΩ¶)
In the Shangtang industrial region, Baoan District, Shenzhen city, there in an area more than a thousand square meters where migrants live. Most of them do not have a hukou, or residency permit, and therefore their status is illegal in Shenzhen. Since the new number 4 subway will go through this area, the city decided to clean this area up and all residents have been ordered to move out. Two weeks after the city government announced the order, security forces came to move all people out and then burned the entire area down. The following photos are from The Southern Metropolis Daily on September 1, 2007, via xinhuanet.com:
A child is trying to save his home in the smoke.
Residents are trying to dig out some still useful things from the ashes.
Residents are moving furniture from their burned home. [Full Text in Chinese]
