Behind the headlines about China’s economic miracle, which have the nation surpassing the United States in a few years, there are a series of looming social and economic crises. China’s many commodities are produced under devastating work conditions. A number of rebellious Chinese factory workers have gone on strike, demanding a better quality of life. The poor health and safety within factories is leading to growing pessimism about industrial production. A series of work related suicides in many factories points to a trend towards deteriorating mental health among workers. In addition, the massive expansion of vehicle use has started an epidemic of death from traffic accidents and created traffic jams more than 50 miles long in places, endangering the nation’s ability to effectively transport mineral resources to factories.
Sources:
Denise Tsange, “Migrant Workers Turn Screw on Bosses,” 20 February, 2011,
http://topics.scmp.com/news/hk-news-watch/article/Migrant-workers-turn-screw-on-bosses
Elizabeth Delaney, “Chinese President Admits to Country’s Looming Economic Crisis,” 17 January, 2011.
Jared Modschein, “The World’s Worst Traffic,” Foreign Policy 24 August 2010
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/08/24/the_world_s_worst_traffic?page=0,0
Jeffrey Wasserstorm, “Strike Out,” 18 June, 2010, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/06/18/strike_out
Student Researchers:
Jillian Teeter, Catherine Ruszczyk, Julie Fonzi, Vincent Schiano (Niagara University)
Faculty Evaluator: Dr. Brian Murphy (Niagara University)