San Francisco has been portrayed by Chinese media as a “ghost town” and a “ruined city” as city officials use the Star Wars theme to clear the streets of homeless people.
The besieged California city has been labeled a “total failure” by some China-based media as it prepares to host Chinese President Xi Jinping next week.
The spotlight will be on the city as the Chinese President meets President Biden for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
As the city gears up for the event, US Chinese radio used the headline ‘Ghost Town San Francisco will have a major blood exchange as APEC delivers the city’s safest week in history.’
Other headlines include the terms “garbage city,” “ruined city” and “fallen city,” as crippling drug problems and widespread homelessness problems continue to cause problems for the city.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, left, is seen here with Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, preparing to visit the state next week
Homeless people gather outside the San Francisco Federal Building on August 19, 2023 in San Francisco, California
The city has suffered an overdose epidemic, driven in part by the spread of the synthetic opioid fentanyl
Another headline from Chinese site 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 when the Democrats pushed forward their radical agenda.
‘Now it has become a crime mecca, the streets are in disarray and it is rapidly descending into ghost town status.’
In an effort to combat the ongoing problems, residents have also decided to blast the Star Wars title theme to prevent homeless people from sleeping on the sidewalks.
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 an unhoused person, 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 sitting there with the music on.’
Jennifer Friedenbach, head of the Coalition on Homelessness, told the Standard that speaker systems are unusual, but believes they are a tactic intended to deter homeless people from settling.
The spotlight will be on the city as the Chinese President meets President Biden for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit
One article says the city has entered a “death cycle,” and another says the California city has become a “crime mecca”
Friedenbach said, “We heard about this as a measure against the homeless. I don’t think it’s particularly effective. (Homeless) people have nowhere to go and loud music doesn’t change that.’
The Standard also reported that 99 planters had been placed in that area to deter homeless people from sleeping on the sidewalks.
The city has struggled with rampant fentanyl use and fatal overdoses for years, and is on track for its deadliest year yet.
On October 29, San Francisco police reported that the city’s homicide rate increased 7 percent, theft rose 14.4 percent and motor vehicle theft increased 8.3 percent.
The San Francisco Standard also revealed that the city has applied to build a mental health center for homeless people who are uninsured on Market Street.
Due to the infrastructure in the area, customers also say that the store is inaccessible and inconvenient.
Preliminary reports show that there were 346 overdose deaths in the city in the first five months of 2023 – an increase of more than 40 percent from the same period in 2022.
The latest figures show that overdose deaths continue to rise and soared in August with a further 84 deaths, 66 of which involved fentanyl.
A map shows the major companies that have left or are planning to leave San Francisco in recent months
Economists had also previously warned that the city is entering an ‘urban doom loop’ – a vicious circle of interconnected trends and forces that are plunging cities into economic and social ruin.
Over the past year, dozens of high-profile retailers announced they were leaving the city center.
Stout retailer Old Navy announced last month that it would close its flagship store in the area, becoming the latest chain to leave town.
Nordstrom also announced that they would be closing all of their locations in the city.
In April, Whole Foods announced it would close all of their locations, with Anthropologie and Office Depot also making the same decisions.
Earlier this week, photos also emerged of a desolate Ikea in downtown San Francisco, as customers say ongoing construction, lack of parking and high crime are keeping them from shopping at the store.
A user named MissionLoco posted photos to X, formerly Twitter, of the store showing stocked shelves but mostly empty aisles with no customers.
‘The new Ikea is as dead as a doorknob. Outside, the construction noise is deafening. The street scene, disheartening,” the user said.
One user shared photos on X, formerly Twitter, of the new store in downtown San Francisco, with almost empty aisles without customers
The photos show stocked shelves, but no customers around. People have said there is no parking and the crime in the area keeps them from going to the store
On October 1, a man was stabbed near 4th and Market Streets, just blocks from Ikea.
Three people were attacked and police said the attacker was a suspect in an attack that occurred earlier that day near Market and Battery streets, reported KGO.
In an effort to put more officers on the streets, the San Francisco Police Department (SPFD) went on a recruiting spree in September by visiting four campuses in Texas.
A police spokesperson told De Standaard that the number of estimated applications this year is 2,104, almost 20 percent more than the 1,756 last year.
Following the widespread calls for reform that swept the country following the killing of George Floyd, the California city’s department had its funding cut.
Mayor London Breed was one of the first to speak out publicly in support of defunding the police.
Drug addicts and homeless people congregate in the California city’s Tenderloin District
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 also said the Tenderloin and South of Market areas still pose challenges
Breed announced $120 million in cuts to police and sheriff’s departments to reinvest in programs that help Black and brown communities.
The following year, Breed reversed the decision and increased the police budget as the city faced a rampant increase in property crime and looting.
In September, Salesforce’s boss lashed out at city officials for only making the city “safe” during the company’s annual convention.
Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce Inc., said he pushed officials in the California city to clean up the house before the company’s annual conference, called Dreamforce.
Mayor London Breed said in response: ‘It’s not just Dreamforce. There are other treaties. This is what we do for every convention that comes to SF.
“My counterpoint is that San Francisco is changing. It’s getting better and better.’
Despite this, Mayor Breed admitted that some parts of the city, particularly the Tenderloin and South Market, still posed challenges.