New China Cities: Shoddy Homes, Broken Hope

[jakeXT]

HUAMING, China — Three years ago, the Shanghai World Expo featured this newly built town as a model for how China would move from being a land of farms to a land of cities. In a dazzling pavilion visited by more than a million people, visitors learned how farmers were being given a new life through a fair-and-square deal that did not cost them anything.

Today, Huaming may be an example of another transformation: the ghettoization of China’s new towns.

Signs of social dysfunction abound. Young people, who while away their days in Internet cafes or pool halls, say that only a small fraction of them have jobs. The elderly are forced to take menial work to make ends meet. Neighborhood and family structures have been damaged.

Most worrying are the suicides, which local residents say have become an all-too-familiar sign of despair.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/world/asia/new-china-cities-shoddy-homes-broken-hope.html?pagewanted=all

[Trillo]

1. Interesting juxtaposition with this other DU article

China the best country to live in?

The 15 Best Countries For You To Move To Right Now

Surprised? While there certainly are downsides to living in this communist country — such as mediocre scores for raising kids — the positive factors are overwhelming.

China's booming economy ranks second in the world for expat economics. As one expat notes, there are "good employment opportunities with less competition."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023970974