Beijing's Push to Curb Population Growth Hits Snag

(Beijing) — Attempts by Beijing city authorities to reduce the population in the city's six bustling downtown districts have failed to meet annual targets despite the relocation of dozens of markets and the shuttering of hundreds of schools for migrant children.

Official records show that the number of residents in the capital's six overcrowded central districts in the first nine months fell by 96,000, one-fourth the annual target, Lu Yan, head of the Beijing Municipal Commission for Development and Reform, told The Beijing News.