China being screwed over like Japan

[bushpig 0]

so is it? I haven't been there, so have only heard the stories of massive new cities etc. But I just read this in an article about something else in the Sydney Morning Herald:

 

"It has been happening for years, helping China consume its 54 per cent of the world's cement and 34 per cent of the world's steel. So far, 40 million farmers have been displaced and 67 million hectares of arable land consumed. "

 

Sounds like China is going to be able to have its own Dogs and Demons book written about it pretty soon. 54 percent of the world's cement!! Schmidt! 40 million farmers displaced. A large percentage, I presume, from that massive damns project.

[Yuki's Passion 1]

Bushy there already is one:

 

China Inc.

 

Ive mentioned it before. Its a shocking read as to whats going in inside China, how the world is being affected by it/affecting it (and not giving two shites about it either), and where China is going to be in the future with the problems its facing today.

[its-a-clock 0]

I'll have to get that. I know very little about what you are talking about there CB.

[bushpig 0]

yeah I kinda knew that shit was going on, but hadn't seen any figures like that on it or heard about that book. Scary eh!

[Yuki's Passion 1]

That book has been an ongoing project for me as there is so much to digest. When Im done Ill pass it on to you mate. Now that your masters is done and you have level 1 ( ) Im sure you can find time...

[bushpig 0]

indeed! Always looking for a good read (if that's the right word)

[jgraves 0]

"Japan, Inc" wasn't without its problems as, I am sure, "China, Inc" will be, though I haven't read it yet.

 

For each developed hectare of farmland and each displaced farmer, there are probably at least ten urban homes and twenty city-dwellers whose homes have been "public domain"ed for urban renewal projects. I feel just as bad for them.

[Yuki's Passion 1]

taken from the back of China Inc and from my own highlights:

 

300 million rural Chinese will move to cities in the next 15 years. China must build urban infrastructure equivalent to Houstons's every month to absorb them.

 

China has more speakers of English as a second language than America has native English speakers.

 

China has 320 million people under the age of 14, more than the entire population of the US.

 

Apparel workers in the US make $9.56/hr. In El Salavador, they make $1.65. In China they make between 68 and 88 cents.

 

China has more than 300 biotech firms than operate unhindered by animal rights lobbies, religious groups, or ethical standars boards.

 

7 of the 10 most polluted cities in the world are in China

 

China may be the source of as much as 40% of the air pollution in Japan. Japan, which has suffered from Chinese acid rain for a generation, PAYS the Chinese to clean up their power plants. From 1997 to 2002 Japan provided $3.1 billion in loans and aid to Chinese environmental projects.

 

Wal-Marts growth as an economic force is inseparable from Chinas rise as a manufacturing giant.

 

A whopping portion of between 10-13% of everthing China has sent to the US winds up on Wal-Marts shelves.

 

The Chinese middle class, a group expected to spend heavily on cars, will soon top 100 million.

 

The list goes on and on as you turn every page, never failing to shock or bring to light what shocking events are unfolding in China. Still got 3 chapters to go before finishing.

[bushpig 0]

[Rag-Doll 0]

The Chinese experience is gonna be worse than Japan Inc by a very large margin. In one one or the other the PRC Gov have been doing this since '49 - it's not a modern thing.

[jgraves 0]

Some scary stats indeed.

Does sound a lot like "Japan, Inc" fueled by (and fueling) fears of trade imbalance, world domination, etc.

 

China's bubble, like Japan's, will burst. There just aren't enough safeguards to prevent it, and those that exist aren't being enforced well enough.

 

Current development, though, also includes parks, grass, trees, insulation, an emphasis on efficiency, earthquake-proofing, clean power production, improved sanitation, and other good green stuff, unlike development over the last 70+ years. Capitalism is bringing a lot of (much needed) good into China as well as some bad.

 

Even if conditions go from horrible to bad, that'll still be a MAJOR improvement, in my opinion. Frankly, I hope for as many such improvements as possible before the pop.