San Francisco has been frantically cleaning up, evicting homeless people and erecting security barriers ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit.
Xi is expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Bay Area, where he will meet with President Joe Biden for the first time in over a year.
The Democratic-run city has erected steel security walls downtown and kicked out vagabond tent dwellers for the communist ruler’s visit.
Biden, like his liberal allies in San Francisco, fought fiercely against walls, particularly Donald Trump’s barrier at the U.S.-Mexico border. San Francisco-based Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and former mayor and current California Governor Gavin Newsom have also sharply criticized the idea of walls.
But photos showed central streets ringed by steel barriers and sidewalks cleared of homeless people as the lawless city tidied itself up ahead of Xi’s visit – after Chinese propaganda likened the fentanyl-infested metropolis to “hell.” .
After being labeled a “ghost town” and a “city of ruins” by Chinese media, San Francisco officials have not only cleaned up the troubled city but also built walls for security ahead of President Xi Jinping’s visit
For Xi Jinping, San Francisco’s homeless population was completely cleared.
The government can easily fix our cities overnight. It just doesn’t want to.pic.twitter.com/tBGmWCbwtX
– End Wakefulness (@EndWokeness) November 12, 2023
reported on Friday that city officials were dispersing the homeless from downtown and other parts of the city in the run-up to the summit, with chaos likely to recur once APEC leaves town.
The Chinese government, meanwhile, is deploying 100 private security guards around the luxury St. Regis hotel where its diplomats and business executives are staying to increase security in the city.
The unprecedented measures are intended to present a clean and shiny image during the APEC summit, San Francisco’s largest meeting of global leaders since 1945.
The city expects the conference, which begins Saturday and runs through Nov. 17, to attract more than 20,000 people and generate more than $50 million in revenue.
The area also saw several protests on Sunday, with anti-capitalists joining forces with pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
Others, however, denounced Xi as a dictator and called for the liberation of Tibet, shouting slogans such as: “Your time is up!”
Biden and Xi are expected to discuss the Israel-Hamas war, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, North Korea, Taiwan, human rights, fentanyl, artificial intelligence and “fair” trade and economic relations, administration officials said.
“Nothing is withheld; “Everything is on the table,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters.
Not only was the city significantly cleaned up and the homeless removed, but steel security walls were also built downtown for the visit of the communist ruler
A sign indicates road closures as security preparations are underway at the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit
While security preparations are underway, people walk through a security gate
Demonstrators hold placards during the “No to APEC” protest on the sidelines of the conference
“We are clear about it. We know that efforts to shape or reform China over several decades have failed. But we expect China to persist and be a major player on the world stage for the rest of our lives,” he said.
Officials declined to provide details about the location of the meeting between Biden and Xi, citing security concerns. Thousands of protesters are expected to descend on San Francisco during the summit.
The two men last met at a G20 meeting in November 2022 in Bali. They haven’t spoken since.
But several senior Cabinet officials – including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo – have traveled to China as both sides seek to keep relations open.
At their meeting in San Francisco, Biden is expected to address the sensitive issue of China’s influence in America as well as the status of U.S. citizens who Washington believes are unjustly detained in China.
Since their last meeting, the US has expressed concern about Chinese espionage in the US. In February, a Chinese spy balloon flew over the United States until an American warplane shot it down off the coast of South Carolina.
The government is also concerned about China’s military aggression in Taiwan.
However, the main goal of the meeting is to maintain communication.
Officials declined to provide details about the location of the meeting between Biden and Xi, citing security concerns. Thousands of protesters are expected to descend on San Francisco during the summit
Some protesters denounced Xi as a dictator and called for Tibet’s release, adding: “Your time is up!”
Pro-Palestine and anti-capitalist demonstrators loudly protested against APEC on Sunday
Left-wing protesters condemn Israel on the sidelines of APEC in San Francisco
“The goals here are really to manage competition, prevent the risk of conflict and ensure that communication channels are open,” an administration official said.
The beleaguered California city may have cleaned up and increased security in response to being called a “total failure” by some China-based media as the city prepares to host Xi next week.
As the city prepares for the event, US Chinese Radio headlined: “Major exchange of blood takes place in ghost town of San Francisco as APEC will give city the safest week in history.”
Other headlines include the terms “garbage city,” “ruined city” and “fallen city” as the city’s crippling drug problem and widespread homelessness continue to plague the city.
Another headline on the Chinese website Phoenix also said the city had entered a “death cycle.”
One article also states: “San Francisco was once a jewel on the West Coast of the United States, but as Democrats advanced their radical agenda.
“Now it has become a crime mecca, the streets are in disarray and it is slipping more and more into ghost town status.”
To combat the ongoing problems, residents have also decided to spread the Star Wars theme to discourage homeless people from sleeping on the sidewalks.
California Governor Gavin Newsom (left) is seen here with Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) as he prepares to visit the state next week
Homeless people gather in front of the Federal Building on August 19, 2023 in San Francisco, California
The city is grappling with an overdose epidemic, driven in part by the spread of the synthetic opioid fentanyl
A building on the corner of Van Ness Avenue and Eddy Street in the city now has two loudspeakers above a bus stop to use as a deterrent.
The San Francisco Standard reported that a homeless man, Oscar Pancho, told them, “It’s fucking annoying.”
“It’s like jazz or circus music or something.” It doesn’t work anyway; They’re still fucking with the music over there.’
Jennifer Friedenbach, director of the Coalition on Homelessness, told the Standard that loudspeaker systems are unusual but believes they are a tactic intended to deter homeless people from settling.
Friedenbach said: “We’ve heard that this is a measure against the homeless.” I don’t think it’s particularly effective. [Homeless] “People can’t go anywhere and loud music doesn’t change that.”
The Standard also reported that 99 planters had been placed in the area to discourage homeless people from sleeping on the sidewalks.
The city has struggled with rampant fentanyl use and fatal overdoses for years and is facing its deadliest year yet.
As of October 29, the San Francisco Police Department reported that the city’s homicides were up 7 percent, robberies were up 14.4 percent, and motor vehicle thefts were up 8.3 percent.
The city will be in the spotlight when the Chinese president meets with President Biden for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit
One article said the city had entered a “cycle of death,” and another said the California city had become a “mecca of crime.”
The San Francisco Standard also announced that the city has applied to build a mental health center for the uninsured homeless on Market Street.
The area’s infrastructure has also led to customers saying the store is inaccessible and inconvenient.
In the first five months of 2023, preliminary reports show there were 346 overdose deaths in the city – an increase of more than 40 percent compared to the same period in 2022.
Latest figures show overdose deaths continue to rise, spiking in August with another 84 deaths, 66 of which were fentanyl-related.
Economists had also previously warned that the city was entering an “urban doom loop” – a vicious cycle of interconnected trends and forces that is driving cities toward economic and social ruin.
Last year, dozens of high-profile retailers announced they would be evacuating downtown.
Retail stalwart Old Navy announced the closure of its flagship store in the area last month, making it the latest chain to leave the city.
Nordstrom also announced it would close all locations in the city.
A map shows the major companies that have left or are planning to leave San Francisco in recent months
In April, Whole Foods announced it was closing all of its locations, and Anthropologie and Office Depot also made the same decisions.
Photos also emerged earlier this week of an abandoned Ikea store in downtown San Francisco, as customers said ongoing construction, a lack of parking and high crime had discouraged them from shopping at the store.
A user named MissionLoco posted photos inside the store on X, formerly Twitter, showing stocked shelves but nearly empty aisles with no customers.
“The new Ikea is dead as a doorknob.” Outside, the construction noise is deafening. “The street scene is disheartening,” the user said.
On October 1, a man committed a stabbing attack near 4th and Market streets, just blocks from Ikea.
A user on X, formerly Twitter, shared images of the new store in downtown San Francisco with nearly empty aisles and no customers
The photos show stocked shelves, but no customers. People said parking restrictions and nearby crime prevented them from going to the store
Three people were attacked and police said the attacker was a suspect in an attack that occurred earlier in the day near Market and Battery streets, KGO reported.
To increase the number of officers on the street, the San Francisco Police Department (SPFD) launched a recruiting campaign in September by visiting four campus locations in Texas.
A police spokesman told the Standard that the estimated number of applications this year was 2,104, an increase of almost 20 per cent compared to 1,756 last year.
The California city’s department has seen its funding cut following the widespread calls for reform that swept the country following the killing of George Floyd.
Mayor London Breed was one of the first to openly advocate for cutting police funding.
Drug addicts and homeless people gather in the Tenderloin District of the California city
Outdoor use of Class A substances is widespread among the city’s homeless population
Mayor London Breed has previously said the city is changing for the better, but has also said the Tenderloin and South of Market areas still present challenges
Breed announced he would cut $120 million from police and sheriff departments to invest in programs that help black and brown communities.
The following year, Breed changed the decision and increased the police budget as the city faced a rapid increase in property crime and looting.
In September, the Salesforce boss criticized city officials for merely being “safe” during the company’s annual meeting.
Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce Inc., said he pushed officials in the California city to clean up the site ahead of the company’s annual conference, called Dreamforce.
In response, Mayor London Breed said: “It’s not just Dreamforce.” There are other conventions. We do this for every convention that comes to SF.
“My resistance is that San Francisco is changing. It’s getting better.”
Still, Mayor Breed acknowledged that some areas of the city, particularly the Tenderloin and South of Market, still presented challenges.