A Rare Protest

A rare public protest took place in front of my office building yesterday. 50-100 elderly protesters marched up the sidewalk yelling and waving signs that accused the government of taking their homes and land away from them without compensation. In a matter of a few minutes police quickly rounded them up and carted them off. Today, a large contingent of police and police vehicles stood by ready to quash any repeat performance by the pesky old folks. I think one of the reasons we rarely see protests in Shanghai is because the police are so incredibly quick to shut them down.