For Decades, China's Laborers Moved To Cities. Now They're Being Forced Out
Beijing's eviction of migrant laborers has sparked one of China's biggest political controversies. The government is reversing the flow of labor from the countryside to the cities.
The streets and alleys of Jiugong Township on Beijing's southern fringes are strewn with rubble from demolished buildings and piles of abandoned clothes and household items.
Authorities have given residents of this migrant laborer enclave just days to clear out before they shut off all electricity and water this week.
In one back alley, two women, their clothes and hair covered in dust, struggle to move heavy furniture out of their ramshackle homes and onto the street, where they pile it onto carts. Nearby, eggshells, a cleaver and bits of vegetables sit on a chopping board in
