In Beijing, a mass eviction leads to a rare public display of rage

BEIJING - Sun Di arrived in Beijing with a dream. In May, the 28-year-old moved to Zhouying village, a swath of low-budget apartment blocks on the city's outskirts. He found a menial job at a pharmaceuticals company, but aspired to start his own business.

Then came the evictions.

On Nov. 18, a fire tore through a cramped, low-budget Beijing apartment building - one much like Sun's - killing 19 people. Authorities responded by launching Beijing's biggest eviction drive in at least a decade. Sun has found himself caught in its grip, suddenly displaced along with tens of thousands of other migrant workers from less-developed cities and towns. Officials have given little or no notice, leaving many people homeless in the freezing Beijing cold.

This week,