Rightways to Success: moving homeless away from Apec summit venue

Wednesday 15 November 2023

San Francisco moving homeless away from Apec summit venue, Historic Bay Area Estate Where Biden and Xi Jinping Are Meeting

San Francisco has struggled to clean up the city ahead of hosting world and business leaders at this week’s Apec summit. Photo: AFP

Homelessness in the city has been a target for US right-wing media and Chinese commentators have joined in the criticism
Encampments were cleared from around the Moscone Centre where world leaders, including Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, meet this week

Why doesn't the US put up some money to resettle these homeless people?

The news that San Francisco has removed vagrants from the street to give the city a new look is hotly discussed on China’s internet. It is quite difficult for the Chinese to understand that the US is so rich, but there are so many people in absolute poverty

Eduardo Jaramilloin San Francisco

Published: 1:37pm, 15 Nov, 2023

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More world leaders will visit San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit this week than at any time since 1945 – when 50 dignitaries met to found the United Nations – and the famed city by the bay is trying to put its best foot forward.

This week’s historic meeting of leaders from around the Asia-Pacific region has prompted a beautification campaign, with San Francisco scrubbing streets and cleaning up the city.

San Francisco has also removed homeless residents from encampments near the summit and called in thousands of law enforcement officers to police the area around the Moscone Centre where world leaders – including US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping – will meet.

See the Historic Bay Area Estate Where Biden and Xi Jinping Are Meeting

Written by Annie Gaus

A large outdoor garden area with a large sunken pool and a large brick estate in the background on a sunny day.

Reflecting pool and former carriage house at the Filoli estate, also known as the Bourn-Roth Estate, in Woodside, California. | Redlemur/Wikimedia/Creative Commons

President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will hold a high-stakes meeting Wednesday at a historic estate about 25 miles south of San Francisco, according to a report.

The two leaders are planning to meet for about four hours Wednesday at the Filoli estate, a lush, sprawling property located in the posh Bay Area suburb of Woodside, according to the Voice of America. The two will dine together during the meeting, which is happening alongside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Downtown San Francisco.

The meeting will include a working lunch, a stroll through the grounds of the estate and a smaller meeting with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Other officials will hold separate sessions on specific issues, VOA reported.

A wood paneled dining room with Victorian era decorations, chandelier, fireplace, etc. — The dining room at the Filoli estate, also known as the Bourn-Roth Estate, in Woodside, California. | Source:Daderot/Wikimedia/Creative Commons

Filoli is described on its website as "a vibrant landscape of the Bay Area, situated on the unceded ancestral lands of the Ramaytush Ohlone, in Woodside, California."

The estate, formally called Filoli Historic House and Garden, boasts 654 acres along the slopes of California’s coastal range.

A brick building with ivy growing on its exterior and to manicured lawn, including hedges and lush trees. — The main house at the Filoli estate was built in a California Eclectic architectural style. | Source:Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

It was originally built in 1917 for William Bowers Bourn II, then owner of one of California's richest gold mines, as a private residence. In 1975, it was opened to the public as a nonprofit organization.

The two leaders will have plenty of space to stroll. The property features a 54,000+-square-foot Georgian revival-style mansion, 16 acres of English Renaissance gardens, a 6.8-acre orchard and a 1-mile trail, among other amenities.

The Wednesday session will be Biden and Xi's first face-to-face meeting since last year, when they met on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali, Indonesia.

A piano atop a small stair case in an Victorian era interior that includes large mirrors and two large bouquets of flowers on pedestal, and a chandelier in the center of the room. — The ballroom of the Filoli estate, also known as the Bourn-Roth Estate, in Woodside, California. | Source:Daderot/Wikimedia/Creative Commons

Xi’s stop at APEC marks his first visit to the U.S. since an April 2017 meeting at Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s Florida resort. It is also the Chinese president’s first visit to San Francisco since 1985, when he was a small-town Communist Party chief.

Biden and Xi are set to discuss the importance of strengthening communication between the two superpowers and managing competition responsibly—along with a range of issues that could prove contentious, such as election interference, according to a senior administration official.

Biden is also likely to touch on China’s role in the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, the official said. The Bay Area meeting will be Biden and Xi’s seventh interaction since Biden took office.

See more pictures of the estate below:

A lowly lit Victorian era room with green wall paper, couches and chairs. — Reception room at the Filoli estate, also known as the Bourn-Roth Estate, in Woodside, California. | Source:Daderot/Wikimedia/Creative Commons

A large outdoor garden area on a sunny day. — The Chartres Garden at the Filoli estate, also known as the Bourn-Roth Estate, in Woodside, California. | Source:Redlemur/Wikimedia/Creative Commons

A large brick estate in the background on a sunny day. — Exterior of the Filoli estate, also known as the Bourn-Roth Estate, in Woodside, California. | Source:Redlemur/Wikimedia/Creative Commons

A modest kitchen era from the late 1880s with a large plant on the center island. — The kitchen at the Filoli estate, also known as the Bourn-Roth Estate, in Woodside, California. | Source:Daderot/Wikimedia/Creative Commons

A large outdoor garden area with a large sunken pool on a sunny day. — The Sunken Garden at the Filoli estate, also known as the Bourn-Roth Estate, in Woodside, California. | Source:Leonard G./German Wikipedia by Sozi

An immaculate lush garden with a manicured lawn, including hedges, and a pool-like pond with water lilies. — Sunken garden and lawn at Filoli estate, a preserved country house, formal garden and estate operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Woodside on June 23, 2017. | Source:Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

Annie Gaus can be reached at annie@sfstandard.com

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