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Gap Between China's Rich, Poor Alarming

ALEXIS_DH

Tirelessly Awesome
Jan 30, 2003
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Lima, Peru, Peru
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050921/ap_on_bi_ge/china_wealth_gap

SHANGHAI, China - The gap between China's richest and poorest citizens is approaching a dangerous level and could lead to social unrest, state media reported Wednesday, citing a government study.
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The most affluent one-fifth of China's population earn 50 percent of total income, with the bottom one-fifth taking home only 4.7 percent, said the report by the official Xinhua News Agency, carried in newspapers Wednesday.

"The income gap, which has exceeded reasonable limits, exhibits a further widening trend. If it continues this way for a long time, the phenomenon may give rise to various sorts of social instability," it said.



that sounds fishy.
either the chinese gvmt is looking for an excuse to justify pulling out some reform in the name of "social welfare" thats gonna screw/rob the wealthy chinese....

or its just bad wording for "the rich chinese are getting richer faster than the poor chinese are" which is a logical conclussion....

thoughts?
 

Changleen

Paranoid Member
Jan 9, 2004
14,335
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Hypernormality
Uh, the poor Chinese are and have always been really really poor. As Silver says it's basically urban vs. rural. Why is there suddenlyan issue? I don't know. Is there actually an issue? I doubt it.
 

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
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I don't think anything short term. But the China's, who have a wonderful human rights record, economic divide grows, there will be a large class of angry citizens ready to revolt. Couldn't happen? Well, just turn the clock 60 years back and you know it can happen again.
 

Changleen

Paranoid Member
Jan 9, 2004
14,335
2,448
Hypernormality
sanjuro said:
I don't think anything short term. But the China's, who have a wonderful human rights record, economic divide grows, there will be a large class of angry citizens ready to revolt. Couldn't happen? Well, just turn the clock 60 years back and you know it can happen again.
Like you, I don't think China thinks short term. The economic divide is only an issue if it is visible (read:rubbed in the face) to/of those at the bottom end. I don't believe it currently is. I may be wrong.
 

Andyman_1970

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2003
3,105
5
The Natural State
ALEXIS_DH said:
"The income gap, which has exceeded reasonable limits, exhibits a further widening trend. If it continues this way for a long time, the phenomenon may give rise to various sorts of social instability," it said.

thoughts?
Yeah, this is one of the reasons that the Torah (surpise I know everyone is shocked to see me cite that Text) has commandments like every 50 years all debt is canceled, and every 7 years slaves can be set free, don't harvest all your feild so the poor have something to eat and gather.........so the rich don't get richer while the poor get poorer..............I think it's referred to as distributive justice.
 

DRB

unemployed bum
Oct 24, 2002
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The wealth gap is huge between urban and rural settings. But it is also widening at a very high rate within urban settings which is the part that is unsettling to the Chinese government. This gap in urban earnings is attributed to the HUGE number of workers from rural China being brought in for construction projects and production work. The higher cost of living in the cities combined with the incredibly low wages paid to these workers leave them in precarious position of being able to survive in the city. The skyline of major Chinese cities are exploding with high rise luxury (by Chinese standards) living complexes. Even the article says the following:

These days, the wealth gap is evident everywhere, from elderly citizens digging through downtown trash bins for plastic bottles to recycle to migrant shacks squeezed between luxury villas in Shanghai's suburbs.
The Chinese government should be very scared of this as these are some the same sorts of conditions that lead to the Communist Revolution.

But of greater concern to all involved is the widening gender gap. The results of the one child policy and other factors have led to a more slowly growing population but at the result of a widening growing gender gap. A normal ratio is about 100 girls for every 107 boys. China’s current ratio is 100 girls for every 120 boys. And while it had been thought that it was mainly a rural issue it is being found that not only does it exist in urban settings it may actually be worse. A recent study showed that in Beijing that ratio is closer to 100:128. Extending that over a population of 1.3 billion the gap is huge. It is calculated that by 2020 there will be in excess of 40 million men between 18 and 45 with no potential mates.

Now combine the two.... poor men who can't get any. 40 million poor men who can't get any. It is not a rosy picture and one that can lead to upheaval. There is precedence for this occurring in China already. Gender imbalance is attributed as the major cause for the Nien rebellion in the 19th century.
 

rooftest

Monkey
Jul 10, 2005
611
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OC, CA
DRB said:
....It is calculated that by 2020 there will be in excess of 40 million men between 18 and 45 with no potential mates.
Looks like selective breeding by the commies to me - all the ugly/lazy/stupid, etc. will find it's way out of their gene pool.