SAN FRANCISCO, California: Like a housework-shy couple who suddenly discover the neighbors are dropping round, San Francisco is in tidying panic mode as it readies for thousands of influential APEC visitors.
There are palpable efforts to spruce up the decaying downtown that in recent years has earned itself a reputation for open-air drug use, homelessness, litter and crime.Major streets have been swept clean, potholes newly repaired and an army of flat-capped police officers are on patrol in the shopping and business district where diplomats, journalists and businesspeople will mingle this week for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, a summit of leaders from around the Pacific.
With its huge Asian population and long history as a port city and gateway to the US, San Francisco looms large across the Pacific.Chinese language media has taken up the cudgel, blasting the city as a 'mecca of crime' and a 'ghost town.'Indeed such is the appeal of a ragging on the city that the San Francisco Chronicle this week published a tongue-in-cheek primer for visiting journalists entitled 'How to write your own San Francisco doom loop story.