Ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in San Francisco, drug addicts, drug peddlers and homeless people have suddenly vanished from the streets and sidewalks of the city. In its measures to clean up the city before international attention shifts to San Francisco, the authorities have pushed the homeless to other parts of the city.
According to The New York Post, residents and business owners believe city officials’ attempts to “herd” transients and addicts are simply a “Band-Aid” solution to a serious problem.
The city centred on seven crossings in the Tenderloin and South of Market, or SoMa, neighbourhoods, which are home to some of the more concentrated encampments where drug-addled people high on fentanyl and heroin can be seen passing out on the streets daily, the Post reported.
Roads are being repaired, railways stations getting deep cleaned more often than usual, and the city is getting power-washed as the Biden administration wants San Francisco to shine as the President of China Xi Jinping visits the city.
While this clean-up/ cover-up ahead of important events is often labelled as a ‘thing’ of the developing countries, in reality, even the global “superpower” is practising the same.
Locals in San Francisco believe that once the APEC Summit ends on November 17, the police presence will begin to decrease and the tents will reappear. People asserted that the problem requires a long-term solution, not just a “band-aid”.
North Beach and Chinatown are getting beautiful crosswalks installed by Public Works. Japantown’s Webster St pedestrian bridge was recently repainted. These venues are expected to be visited by APEC attendees. The Yerba Buena Gardens at the Moscone Convention Center has been decorated with new vibrant landscaping and murals, paid for by the “Clean California” grant. This comes as the 20,000 high-profile attendees arrive in town the following week.
Some US netizens called out the authorities for cleaning up the city for the Chinese President’s visit but otherwise let the drug addicts and homeless people set up tents on roadsides and make the city roads a mess.
November 2023—San Francisco after being cleaned up for the Xi Jinping visit pic.twitter.com/njQ3EBOi10
— Patrick Blumenthal (@PatrickJBlum) November 11, 2023
An X user wrote, “San Francisco literally just cleaned the sh*t out of their city in anticipation of Joe Biden and Xi Jinping of China set to meet there Wednesday.”
San Francisco literally just cleaned the sh*t out of their city in anticipation of Joe Biden and Xi Jinping of China set to meet there Wednesdaypic.twitter.com/9S6qlCHoQp
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) November 11, 2023
One Noah Smith credited Xi Jinping for cleaning San Francisco as he wrote, “Xi Jinping cleaned up San Francisco downtown.”
Xi Jinping cleaned up San Francisco downtown https://t.co/cGsxiGA8eR
— Noah Smith 🐇🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@Noahpinion) November 11, 2023
Another one highlighted the tents set up near Mason Street and trash littered all around adding that homeless people pushed away by the public works department authorities returned as soon as the authorities left. “The City is so powerless that can’t clean up homeless encampments/drug dens from downtown SF. Junkies were right back after DPW cleaned the sidewalk. THIS will represent San Francisco during APEC,” the X user wrote.
The City is so powerless that can’t clean up homeless encampments/drug dens from downtown SF. Junkies were right back after DPW cleaned the sidewalk. THIS will represent San Francisco during APEC 🤦🏻♀️(📍200 block Mason Street) pic.twitter.com/6KCAbJgHzJ
— Old Fashioned SF (@powellmarket415) November 10, 2023
APEC Summit
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a regional economic forum founded in 1989 to capitalise on the Asia-Pacific region’s growing interconnectedness. APEC is the principal forum for the United States to advance economic policy in the Asia-Pacific region in order to promote free, fair, and open trade and investment, as well as to advance sustainable and inclusive economic growth. The United States will chair APEC in 2023. The APEC Economic Leaders’ Week will be held in San Francisco. The theme of ALEW 2023 is “Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Future for All.”
The APEC members include Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People’s Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; the Philippines; the Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; the United States of America; Vietnam.
