Local media in the U.S. city of Seattle reported late last month that a 107-year-old warehouse building that had served as a temporary home for members of the Occupy Seattle movement was finally demolished by its owners. Media reports said Occupy members had fought to save the building since December, when 20 members were arrested for refusing to vacate the premises. In January, one Occupy member and activist, Babylonia Aivaz, said she would seek to marry the building in a last-ditch attempt to save it from demolition. A ceremony was reportedly prepared, but the building was demolished nonetheless. This story of a “forced demolition” in the United States was reported in China’s media and drew interest from readers in China, where forced demolition remains common and widely unpopular despite laws designed to curb the practice. In this cartoon, posted by artist Liu Xudong (刘旭东) to QQ.com, two demolition workers (with blond hair identifying them as “Americans”) stand by with hammers and saws as a voice rises from a warehouse building that says, “Who dares demolish my husband!”


David Bandurski

CMP Director

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