Seriously? The banner reads “Reduce use of the roads so that foreign friends can enjoy wide streets”. The reason to keep small vendors and hawkers out of the way? Beginning yesterday through Nov 11, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation is holding meetings in Beijing to promote the regional economy. Inquiring minds want to know; just whose economic prosperity are the regional leaders hoping to promote, when the Beijing City City Management (the dreaded 城管) is actively disrupting street markets for at least a week?
The photograph and outrage have been burning up my wechat groups. APEC calendar, here.
Isn’t the inconsistency interesting? In HK, foreigners and foreign influence are now evil! Yet when it comes to making money (but not money for local poor people), rich foreigners must be so very accommodated…
I’m pretty sure there are different constituencies welcoming and rejecting foreign business. Still seems to me that we’re talking class antagonisms and not cultural difference.