安全与安置，可否同行？ | Beijing Safety or Beijing Evictions – who's right?

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The Beijing government has launched what it is calling a cleanup campaign in the aftermath of a deadly fire in a surburban house. 

大兴一场火灾之后，北京市政府发起了一场全面的城市清理运动。

The house was a typically rundown apartment mainly used by low-income migrant workers. And now many such houses are being shut down for failing safety standards. It is a typical response from the government to a public crisis.

被清理的房屋大多是一些老旧小区的住房，长期被一些外地民工租住，房屋防火安全往往不达标。政府的行动算是一次比较典型的危机反应。

But the optics of such a campaign have become extremely toxic with pictures and video of law enforcement officers lining the streets going viral. 

但这场清理运动的形象却倍遭诟病，尤其是当人们目睹了执法者在街头强力清理民工住所的照片和视频。

First of all, it is understandable and even desirable that the government does something after the fire. The British government for example came under considerable criticism for its lack of action following the Grenfell Tower fire which killed over 70 people earlier this year. 

当然大火之后政府理当有所作为，甚至可以说是职责所在。英国政府在伦敦高层公寓大火之后的不作为就一度成为众矢之的。

The question however is how should the Beijing authorities respond and at what cost and to who? 

但问题是作何反应，代价几何和谁来承担。

Firstly this should not be an eviction issue, it should be a housing safety issue. 

这个问题原本不是一个驱赶住户的问题，而是一个房屋安全的问题。

The government is not supposed to drive any people out but make sure every house is safe. If the house is not safe, the occupants should not be allowed to stay in it. But that obviously leads to the next problem of how to move these people or to where. 

政府当然不能随意驱赶居民，而是应该切实保证居者安全。如果房屋安全出现问题，住户应该被另行安置，但问题是怎么安置，去哪里安置。

As the new Beijing Party Secretary Cai Qi promised, public safety and social stability is of paramount importance, but there should be no rush to move people and the government should provide guidance and help.

正像北京市委书记蔡奇所说：首都的安全稳定再怎么强调都不过分，但要做好疏通引导，保证人员安全。注意把握工作节奏，给分流群众留出时间。

The trade-off between fairness and efficiency has always bothered governments, especially one sitting atop of a fast economy. China is good at getting things done but we need to be better at making things fairer. And balancing those two issues is a problem that many think the government has not made a priority, at least not yet. 

公平和效率的平衡问题一向困扰各级政府，尤其是领导着一个快速发展超大经济体的中国政府。中国人做事效率高，但做事也要公道。如何平衡两者仍是个未解难题。

Beijing is a big metropolis that needs hard working people from across China – migrants - but it has often failed to provide enough safe and affordable housing for them. How to deliver fast growth and ensure everybody has a shot at a better life remains a big challenge. We all need a safe place to live and we also need a fairer way to share in China’s growth.

北京是一座大都市，需要来自全国各地辛苦工作的民工兄弟。但这座城市还不能为每一个民工提供安全便宜的居所，北京还欠他们很多。我们的经济高速发展，但每个人还需要自我实现，如何比翼齐飞将是一个巨大的工程。我们需要安全的住所，我们也需要公平的生活。