On the eve of Solomon Islands' national elections, Chinatown shopkeeper Ruth Maetala says she will be shuttering her second-hand clothing store until the dust settles from voting. Mobs tore through the shopping district during riots in 2019 and 2021, their anger fuelled in part by China's growing sway over the government. The wreckage of a truck remains, along with the decaying concrete husks of stores that have been stripped, trashed and daubed with graffiti. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES