The Effects of Pushing out "Low-End Population"

Migrant workers gathering their things and getting ready to leave Beijing

Last night I met up with a friend from Beijing who's visiting Hong Kong and we caught up since we last met up.

I asked him about the evictions of the migrant workers and he shook his head, sad at the turn of events.

Following a fire in Beijing's Daxing district that killed 19 people, the local government has used the tragedy as an excuse to get rid of the "low-end population", though this campaign has been happening for the past year.

Parts of Sanlitun have been completely demolished

When I was in Beijing in April, the back streets of Sanlitun, where many expats hung out and used to buy cheap DVDs, or have manicures and pedicures, massages and buy cheap clothing and food, were being torn down.

"Beijingers are happy the streets are cleaned up and feel that the city is now becoming more international like London and New York," my friend said, adding he didn't like Beijing anymore because these colourful aspects of the city were now fast disappearing.

In other words, Beijing is gentrifying.

He told me about a small restaurant across the street from where he lived. It wasn't really a restaurant -- a kind of shack -- where they sold all kinds of food, from jianbing or a savoury pancake, to fried chicken wings, noodles and char-grilled lamb skewers called chuar.

It was run by a bunch of young guys from Henan. While my friend described them as a bit on the tough side, perhaps dealing in things other than food, they were nice people, who he got to know as acquaintances. He'd stop by after work for a beer, or pick up a snack for his wife to bring back home, and have a quick friendly chat. They were also open until 5am.

But now they were gone and he didn't know where they went. More importantly he didn't know where to get his snacks and drinks now.

Some people are hardly given much notice to leave

The small cigarette and liquor shops that supposedly sold items that were collected by senior government officials as "gifts" and sold for cheap are also gone. The last time I was there, the closet-sized sex shops had also disappeared.

Not all expats have the same view as my friend who is from the UK and has lived in Beijing for many years. These foreigners like seeing migrant workers gone and the streets are now cleaner, or getting rid of businesses that didn't fit in the neighbourhood, like the aforementioned shack selling food and perhaps were noisy late into the night.

Nevertheless these were businesses that were convenient, cheap and useful for many residents, and what are left behind are empty stalls, or areas that have been completely demolished, leaving no trace of their previous existence.

However my friend has the last laugh -- expats are complaining it's hard to find an ayi (a maid) these days. Gee, I wonder why?

He says his ayi may leave next year if she too is pressured, but doesn't know where to go. She doesn't want to go back to Anhui province, and do what? She has lived in Beijing for over a decade and makes good money cleaning people's flats.

The Beijing government may think it's doing a good thing getting rid of the "low-end population", but really it's shooting itself in the foot. These migrant workers keep the city going. They were the ones who built all the new buildings and infrastructure, but you deny their children education because they don't have hukou or a residence permit, and now you force them to leave because you consider them an eyesore?

How is that equality in the so-called socialist People's Republic of China?

Fact of the Day: 61 Million Left-Behind Children

There are 61 million left-behind children like these ones in China

In China, the latest survey by the National Health and Family Planning Commission reveals there's a staggering 61 million left-behind children, a third of them younger than 17, who are not raised by their parents.

The mothers and fathers have gone to mostly coastal cities to find work to send money home and only see their children once or maybe twice a year.

The lack of hukou or residence permit in big cities prevents parents from bringing their children with them because they don't have access to decent housing, schooling and health care.

Many are raised by grandparents or relatives in hometowns

So these children are left to mostly grandparents or relatives to care for, and there are many sad cases of them dying.

Last June, four left-behind children from the same family, ranging in ages from give to 13, committed suicide together by swallowing pesticide in Bijie, Guizhou province. And in November 2012, five boys died from carbon monoxide poisoning after starting a charcoal fire to keep warm inside a dumpster.

Experts believe these incidents happened because the parents were not around to raise them.

But at the same time, where else can these parents go to try to make a better life for their families? Provinces like Anhui, Henan and Sichuan are the sources for the most migrant workers, as 44 percent of rural children in these areas are left behind, way above the national average of 35.6 percent.

What is the central government's response?

In February, the State Council, China's cabinet, issued a guideline to local authorities to improve the physical and psychological health of such children. But there are no details on exactly how they would do that. And would Beijing come to check on the the local authorities to see if the have implemented any programs to benefit left-behind children?

They only have access to basic education which isn't enough

They are the most neglected people in society next to orphans.

Sixty-one million children is not a number to dismiss -- it's almost the population of Britain. And yet they barely get basic education and health care, let alone the emotional support they need to grow up to be confident and relatively happy people with decent jobs.

The government needs to do more for these children, but anything effective and immediate doesn't seem to be a priority. Beijing likes to parrot how it has lifted more than 800 million people out of of poverty.

But what about these 61 million children? They are the next generation who deserve at least a chance to thrive.

True Love Conquers All

Victor and his now fiancee posing for pre-wedding pictures in Iceland

People are still talking about Victor and Stephanie BB's wedding proposal from last weekend, gobsmacked that he spent HK$400,000 ($51,590) on a 1.5-carat diamond ring, a hotel suite with a view and a helicopter flying by with a banner that had the proposal written on it.

Many are wondering if it's a publicity stunt and if the media who reported it were paid to cover the story.

But we'd like to contrast this with two other couples.

A couple in Turkey got married near the Syrian border and celebrated the nuptials by inviting 4,000 Syrian refugees to eat with them. The bride and groom even spooned out food for the less fortunate.

A Turkish newlywed couple dishes out food for refugees

It was the idea of the groom's father, who was glad the couple began their married life "with such a selfless action".

The bride admitted being shocked at the idea at first, but then she was so happy she was able to help others in need.

The groom added, "Seeing the happiness in the eyes of the Syrian refugee children is just priceless. We started our journey with making others happy and that's a great feeling," he said.

And in Anhui province, a 30-year-old man paid for a 12,000 yuan ($1,932) diamond ring in coins to give to his former childhood sweetheart.

Liang Liang wheeled a tricycle loaded with 150kg of coins into bags to a jewellery shop in Fuyang. The highest denomination coin was 1 yuan.

Staff counting the coins Liang used to buy a ring

It took four employees half a day to count all the coins, that were neatly wrapped in newspaper.

Liang said he was fulfilling a promise he made to his fiancee made 20 years earlier when they were children.

"Do you remember 20 years ago I said I would earn money and marry you?" Liang was quoted as saying. "Now I've earned enough to buy you a ring, please marry me!"

His fiancee accepted and was reportedly so moved by his proposal that she burst into tears.

Liang had said that several jewellery stores turned him away when he asked if he could pay for the ring in coins. But the manager of the shop that sold him the ring said staff were touched by his story and would put the coins on display as "the best evidence of true love".

We hope this brings everyone back to reality, that there are some people out there who are celebrating their love with true hearts.