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VOA: Hidden Danger Revealed in Carrying Out the RMB 4000 Billion Stimulus Package

Voice of America published an article about the Chinese Stimulus Package based on reports by the Chinese State Auditing Administration. The auditing publication revealed issues on the how the spending effort was completed. Some investments were used for monetary speculation. Some funds were not actually delivered to the intended projects. Small and medium sized businesses were left behind. By the end of March, based on audit results covering 335 new projects in 18 provinces, the Central Government delivered 94% of the promised funds while only 48% of corresponding local investments were actually completed. The US agency Stratfor Global Intelligence suggested that, the Chinese Stimulus Package can help the economy in the short term at the cost of a long term solution.

Source: VOA, May 20, 2009.
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/n2009-05-20-voa2.cfm

Study Times: Increasing People’s Wealth Leads To a Strong Nation

The CCP Central Party School’s newspaper, Study Times, recently published an article discussing the importance of increasing the Chinese people’s wealth. The key point is that compared to the growth of China’s national wealth, the growth of average people’s income has lagged far behind. According to a study of the period from 1995 to 2007, China’s fiscal income increased by 5.7 times, and the average yearly increase was 16%. In contrast, the average annual increase of city residents’ disposable income was 8%, and the average annual increase of rural residents’ disposable income was 6.2%. Consequently, many people are asking, “How can we spend more money when we don’t have any money?"

The article’s author argued that the ultimate goal of a country’s economic and social development is to let its people have a prosperous life. A “wealthy nation full of poor people” can never sustain a society’s healthy growth.

Source: Study Times, May 25, 2009.
http://www.studytimes.com.cn/WebPage/ny1.aspx?act=1&id=2672&nid=9696&bid=12&page=1

Applications for College Entrance Exam Down

Other than Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Chong Qing, most provinces will see a decrease in college entrance examination applications this year. The main reason is the tough job market college graduates face.

Some high school graduates apply for vocational schools to learn a trade. And more and more of them are applying to colleges overseas.  For example, there are 3000 high school students who take the SAT test each year to apply to colleges in the US.

Source: Huan Qiu, May 28, 2009
http://china.huanqiu.com/roll/2009-05/473516.html

Young Party Leaders at High Risk for Corruption

Young party leaders under the age of 45 make up a larger portion of those accused of corruption charges. According to Guangzhou Discipline Inspection Committee, among 227 government employees who were charged with corruption from 2007 and 2008, 127 of those were between 31 and 45, accounting for 55.95 percent of the total.

Source: China News, May 18, 2009
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2009/05-18/1695619.shtml

Online Survey Results on Geithner’s Visit

Huanqiu published its online survey results on US Treasury Secretary Geithner’s fist visit to China: 83 percent believe that the purpose of Geithner’s China visit was to ask China to buy more US debt; 49 percent feel that China will not purchase more debt; 63.3 percent believe the US relies on China.

Huanqiu also listed the following five requests made to Geithner from its online users. They are: keep US currency stable and stop pressing China on the currency issue; lift the sanction on exporting high-tech to China; ensure safe investment in the US; recognize China’s (world) market economy status; and cancel US trade protection clause against China.

Source: Huan Qiu, May 31, 2009
http://china.huanqiu.com/roll/2009-05/475121.html

Chinese Protesters Warmly Welcome Nancy Pelosi

When Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and a vocal critic of China’s human rights record, started her China visit on May 24, 2009, she received a warm welcome from Chinese petitioners who are fed up with the government’s corruption. The petitioners, staged protests against the Chinese government almost daily. When Pelosi arrived, they showed their appreciation for her promotion of human rights in China. The largest demonstration occurred on May 25, when several thousand petitioners gathered at Beijing’s South Train Station for the Speaker’s arrival. They shouted slogans to protest government corruption, its denial of human rights and democracy, and its ignoring justice in its courts. One banner said “Welcome Pelosi. Pay Attention to China’s Human Rights! SOS.” The police and hired underground gangsters clashed with the protesters. The demonstration lasted for two hours during which the police took some protesters away.

The demonstration can been seen on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usADrSCMQKE&feature=channel

Source:
[1] Voice of America, May 25, 2009
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/w2009-05-25-voa47.cfm
[2] Radio Free Asia, May 25, 2009
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/pelosi-05252009094129.html
[3] Epoch Times, May 25, 2009
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/9/5/25/n2537583.htm

Epoch Times: China’s Report of GDP Growth Is Questionable

Epoch Times expressed that the report that China released on 2009 first quarter GDP was not convincing and the Economist pointed out that the figures had likely been fudged. The government released GDP and production numbers for the first quarter of 2009 declaring 6.1% and 16% increases respectively over the same period in 2008. However, the electricity production in the first quarter was 4% down from the same period a year earlier. In the past, GDP and electricity output have moved broadly together, although it is not a one-to-one relationship.

Economists have long questioned whether China has been massaging its GDP data. It is widely believed that China’s GDP growth was overstated during the period after the Tiananmen Square Massacre and the Asia Crisis period.

Source:
[1] Epoch Times, May 25, 2009
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/9/5/25/n2537054.htm
[2] Economist, May 21, 2009
http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13692907

Financial Crisis Leaves Dongguan with Nothing (Part III)

The Xiao Xia Who Does Not Want to Go Home

“Here you see people and cars everyday; at home you can only see pigs and ox-wagons. Would you go home if you were me?”

– By reporter Wang Daqi and intern reporter Li Shaoqing, from Dongguan

At Dongguan Industrial Park, there was a giant red board in front of a toy factory announcing jobs.  A group of migrant workers were talking next to the board, yet no one dared to go inside. Xiao Xia was one of them. He was looking at the board, “Room and board covered, monthly salary 800 yuan.”

“Is it a trap?” Xiao Xia talked to the reporters, thinking they were also unemployed workers like him. “I look too young. I am afraid that they will not hire me. Why don’t you go in first, you could say that the three of us are together. That way it will be easier (for me to be hired).”

Xiao Xia, a sixteen year old boy with his hair dyed yellow, left his hometown in Henan Province and came to Dongguan more than two years ago. He worked at a radio factory before. “(The job was easy.) All you needed to do was to stick all the parts on to a circuit board.” Xiao Xia said the work was a bit boring, but he got paid more than 1000 yuan a month. “We were paid for each piece completed, as long as we finished our quota each day, that’s it.  If I worked more, I would get overtime pay, 5 yuan for each hour.”  Xiao Xia was good at the work. He could often finish his quota ahead of time and then go back to sleep.

Last January, the boss told Xiao Xia and his friends that he had to deduct one month worth of their wages because they “did not obey the management and were involved in fighting.”  Xiao Xia told the reporters, “As a matter of fact, the boss was running out of money, so he looked for excuses not to pay us. We fought before but the boss never cared. We did not sign any contract with the factory and we are responsible for our own fighting. Why should the boss deduct money from our wages?”

Xiao Xia and his friends went on strike for a week.  Finally the boss agreed to pay their wages, but the condition was that they had to leave.  Xiao Xia and three other people left the factory, one of them went back to his hometown in Henan Province. Xiao Xia and the other two are still at Dongguan looking for jobs.

When Xiao Xia and the reporters went inside the toy factory the manager and director were both there.  They told the reporters and Xiao Xia, “Our boarding rooms are full now, so we stopped hiring temporarily. You can fill out a form and we will contact you when we start hiring again.”

Walking out of the toy factory, Xiao Xia was calm. He told the reporters that he has been looking for more than a month and filled out more than a dozen forms like this. Many places only look for skilled workers, some only look for women, there is no demand for unskilled general labor.

This is very common in Dongguan.  Under the global financial crisis, all factories are looking for ways to cut costs. Female workers eat less and are more careful at work. They are also easier to manage than male laborers.

Xiao Xia said he had used an employment broker before. They “guaranteed to find a job.” After paying 100 yuan to the broker, Xiao Xia was sent to a factory as a janitor where he had to pay another 50 yuan before starting work at the factory.  Several days later, the factory asked Xiao Xia to show them his contract. Then, they tore the contract into pieces in front of Xiao Xia and fired him blaming he “did not work hard.” Xiao Xia said he did not trust any employment brokers any more.

Yet Xiao Xia is quite confident. “I changed several jobs before, but back then everyone was hiring. I believe the companies still need labor. I will keep looking. The worst case is do temporary work.” Xiao Xia said he likes to do temporary work, as you get paid every day, and you are free to leave at anytime.

Xiao Xia brought the reporters to the factory that just fired him, “they are still hiring.”

Xiao Xia hid away watching the reporters walk through the low ceiling aisle by smelly, dirty water and going up three stories of stairs full of mold. We heard the machines and saw a big warehouse full of young workers busy sewing. No one looked at us.

The wife of the boss came over with a baby on her back and looked at us suspiciously. She told us the job offer: monthly wages of 900 yuan but no boarding. We found an excuse and left.

Xiao Xia has an older brother at Houjie, Dongguan working as a driver. He will not lose his job since he has the skill of driving. However, Xiao Xia does not want to live with his brother, because his brother tried to discipline him. “Last year I fought with people from the next door factory, when my brother found out about it, he took away the knife that I bought for more than 20 yuan. I had a big argument with him and never went back.”

Local residents said there are many young people wandering around the streets lately. Many people do not dare to go outside at night now, as people are worried that the town is no longer safe.

When talking about his future, Xiao Xia said he would stay in Dongguan by working temporary jobs. To him, it is not just the matter of making money; he cannot stand living in the countryside, as compared with life in the city.

“Here you see people and cars everyday; at home you can only see pigs and ox-wagons. Would you go home if you were me?”

Endnote:
[1] “The Xiao Xia Who Does Not Want to Go Home,” Nanfang People Weekly, April 13, 2009

http://www.nanfangdaily.com.cn/rwzk/20090413/gj/200904240009.asp