Lesson Three: “Policy Change and New Crisis” Urban Crisis Rural Crisis Military Complaints New Middle Class

City Shanghai

Urbanization China became urbanized in 2006, when Chinese cities increased from 223 to 695, and more than 30 cities had a population over 1.5 million.

Major cities: Chongqing 28.8 million residents Shanghai 23 million Beijing 19.6 million Tianjin 12.9 million Shenzhen 9 million

Shenzhen in 1970s

Shenzhen in early 1980s

Shenzhen in the middle of 1980s

Shenzhen in late 1980s

Shenzhen in the 1990s

Shenzhen in 21 century

Shennan Road 2014 12

Shennan in 21st Century

Social Stratification By 1999, the composition of the social groups had changed when farmers decreased to 46 percent; workers increased to 28 percent; professionals to 17 percent; administrators, approximately 3-5 percent.

In 2003, the National Bureau of Statistics issued an official calculation of 0.375 as its Gini coefficient; By 2004, the Gini coefficient increased to 0.4725; and By 2014, it continued to increase to 0.474.

The Wealthy Another striking feature of China’s social classes in the 2010s is the rapid social stratification or polarization of wealth. In 2000, the combined estimated wealth of the top fifty richest entrepreneurs in China was $10 billion. The wealthiest was worth $2 billion and the number fifty slot was worth $42 million.

The Wealthy For China’s farmers, who account for more than one-third of the total population, the average annual wage was well below $500 the same year. According to Forbes, the top 100 richest Chinese were worth $376 billion in 2014, up 19 percent from 2013.

The Wealthy The top three were Jack Ma $19.5 billion Robin Li $14.7 billion Ma Huateng $14.4 billion.

The Poor For China’s agricultural workers, who account for one-third of the total population, the average annual wage was $500 for 2004 and below $850 for 2014. The distribution of wealth is even more uneven for ethnic minorities.

Poverty The poverty line in China is set at 2 yuan RMB ($0.33) a day, or 683 yuan ($113.83) a year, and that a person does not have enough food and clothing to meet his or her basic needs. It is well below the international standard of poverty of one dollar (6 yuan) a day or $365 (2,190 yuan) a year.

Poverty By 2007 more than 31 million Chinese people were living below the poverty line. The number had declined from 250 million in 1977 and 42 million in 1998.

Poverty The Asian Development Bank, using the norm of $1 per day, suggested that China should have about 230 million poor residents in 2007, some 18.5 percent of the total population.

Urban Poor 2001 14.8 million 2007 19.63 million 2010 21.4 million

Urban Poor More than an half of the destitute Chinese are in the cities, about 2.8 to 3.1 percent of the total urban population, and are dependent on government and social welfare because they are unable to support their families.

Urban Poor Poverty lines are different between cities. Beijing and Shanghai, for example, set up their poverty (benefit) lines at 2,400-3,828 yuan RMB (about $400-638) per person a year. Chongqing at 1,680-2,400 yuan (about $280-400) per person a year.

Child Labor Although Chinese law prohibits the employment of children under the age of sixteen, United Nations (UN) reports point out that the Chinese government has not adopted a “comprehensive policy to combat child labor.” One UN report concludes that child labor remains a “persistent problem.” According to the report by the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) in June 2006, some manufacturing companies hire child laborers during summer and winter breaks.

Child Labor One such company employed more than twenty children between the ages of twelve and fifteen for full-time jobs. These under-age employees were paid much lower than the minimum wage and were required to work as many hours a day as adult workers. Child labor was reportedly often discovered in low-skill manufacturing sectors such as toys, textiles, and shoes.

Child Labor The state also began to crack down on the abducting and selling of women and children. In 2003, public security officials rescued over 2,000 abducted women and children from human traffickers.

Child Labor On May 9, 2007, six parents who lost their children went to the provincial television station in Henan for help. They believed that their boys, between the ages of 8 and 13, were kidnapped or abducted to sell to owners of illegal coal mines in Shanxi.

Child Labor On June 25, state police from Henan and Shanxi provinces raided the illegal mines and rescued 532 slave laborers, including 109 children. Most of the children were kidnapped or abducted at bus stops or train stations and then sold for 500 yuan Renminbi or RMB ($70) per child. The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) estimated that 10,000 women and children are abducted and sold each year, and some NGOs estimate that between 20,000 and 30,000 were trafficked annually.

New Middle Class The estimated number of the middle class increased from 13.8 percent of China’s workforce in 1988 19 percent in 1999 26.3 percent in 2014

Policy Change In 2002, the laws related to the one-child policy were amended to allow ethnic minorities and Chinese living in rural areas to have more than one child, since the policy was not even previously enforced. The government also encourages local officials to initiate and fund their own pilot projects concerned with family planning, with the expectation of achieving both population reduction and stability.

Policy Change The first Family Planning Law, adopted in September 2002, allows provinces and municipalities to establish local regulations, such as allowing couples meeting special provisions to have a second child. Some local governments had already adopted laws to that effect. Some provinces have abolished birth permits (a quota system), and allow couples to decide on their own when to have a baby. The policy has been relaxed in urban areas to allow people who were single children to have two of their own. Some cities allow couples to have two children as long as the births are five years apart.