Posts tagged ‘Social science’

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30/07/2014

China’s 1 Percent vs. America’s 1 Percent – Businessweek

A new study by Peking University’s Social Science Research Center pulls back the curtain a bit on China’s überwealthy. The richest 1 percent of Chinese households control more than a third of the country’s wealth, according to the July 26 study.

Most of that is tied up in real estate. In 2012, the study says, real estate accounted for 70 percent of all household wealth in China. (The bottom quarter of households, tellingly, control just 1 percent of China’s wealth.) The outsize reliance on real estate as an investment vehicle for both individuals and enterprises is troubling, given widespread concerns about a property bubble. In June, apartment prices fell in 55 of China’s 70 largest cities, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics. In the southeastern city of Hangzhou, property prices dipped 1.7 percent that month.

But how do China’s rich stack up against America’s? The U.S. Internal Revenue Service analyzes income, not household net wealth, and in 2012, America’s richest 1 percent took home 19.3 percent of household income. But incomes rose almost 20 percent for the top 1 percent, whereas they inched up just 1 percent for the bottom 99 percent.

via China’s 1 Percent vs. America’s 1 Percent – Businessweek.

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01/05/2014

China’s Income-Inequality Gap Widens Beyond U.S. Levels – Businessweek

The gap between China’s rich and poor is now one of the world’s highest, surpassing even that in the U.S., according to a report being released this week by researchers at the University of Michigan.

The metric used in these studies, the Gini coefficient, would be zero in a society in which all income is equally distributed, while a score of one would reflect a society in which all income is concentrated in the hands of a single individual. Over a three-decade period starting in 1980—shortly after China’s economic reform and opening commenced—the Gini coefficient has grown from 0.3 to 0.55 in 2010.

In the U.S., by contrast, the index reads 0.45. Anything over 0.50 is considered “severe disparity,” says the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The authors used data from seven separate surveys conducted by a number of Chinese university-affiliated organizations, including Peking University’s Institute of Social Sciences.

via China’s Income-Inequality Gap Widens Beyond U.S. Levels – Businessweek.

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19/06/2013

Chinese Voice Anger and Nostalgia Over Urbanization

From NY Times: “Chinese Voice Anger and Nostalgia Over Urbanization

Chinese residents have turned to the microblogging site Weibo to express their feelings on the government’s efforts to drastically expand the urban population. While there are glimmers of hope about the prospects of city life and the opportunities afforded by compensation, the majority of the discussion focuses on resentment over perceived corruption and sadness over the loss of land, farm animals and a way of life. Here is a selection of recent posts presented in their original Chinese and translated into English.”
Weibo.com Logo

Weibo.com Logo (Photo credit: bfishadow)

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/06/16/world/asia/weibo-voices-land-seizures.html?ref=asia&_r=0

Posted in China alert, Economics, Social & cultural, urban development | 1 Comment »

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14/11/2012

* China turns to machines as farmers seek fresh fields

Unless China solves the agricultural productivity soon, it will become a global rather than a Chinese problem.

Reuters: “China needs to replace millions of workers who have quit farms for cities, but even its vast state power might not be able to transform the countryside into a network of big industrial farms capable of feeding its growing economy.

A farmer drives a harvester to reap through a corn field in Suibin state farm, Heilongjiang province in this October 16, 2012 file photo. China needs to replace millions of workers who have quit farms for cities, but even its vast state power might not be able to transform the countryside into a network of big industrial farms capable of feeding its growing economy. Pulling together small plots of land to make larger operations and introducing modern mechanical techniques would help boost productivity, vital if China's agricultural sector is to meet soaring domestic food demand.REUTERS-David Stanway-Files

Pulling together small plots of land to make larger operations and introducing modern mechanical techniques would help boost productivity, vital if China’s agricultural sector is to meet soaring domestic food demand.

But efforts to modernize the sector are struggling to gain traction because many farmers are suspicious about giving up their land, and even for some mechanized farms, there are too few workers.

Guaranteeing food security is a major tenet of the ruling Communist Party. The country is self-sufficient in rice and wheat, but is struggling to meet corn demand and has long given up trying to satisfy soy demand. It is the world’s biggest importer of soybeans, and a major buyer of corn.

It has increased grains output for nine straight years and aims to add 50 million tonnes per year by 2020 to the record 571.21 million tonnes of grain harvested in 2011.

“It now needs the government to come out and manage the land of those who give consent, and improve economies of scale,” said Fu Xuejun, a manager at the Baoquanling farm, owned by the Beidahuang Group, a huge state-owned farming conglomerate in Heilongjiang in northeast China.

Some say China should give up its fixation with self-sufficiency and take advantage of growing grains trade internationally.

“China used to emphasize self-sufficiency because the international environment was not favorable,” said Li Guoxiang, researcher with the Rural Development Institute of the China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). “Food security should have two aims – one is domestic production and the other is the ability to buy overseas.”

via Analysis: China turns to machines as farmers seek fresh fields | Reuters.

See also: https://chindia-alert.org/2012/02/23/china-finally-realises-that-migrant-workers-are-not-a-transient-issue/

Posted in agriculture, China alert, Economics | 1 Comment »

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01/10/2012

* China has most microbloggers in the world: report

This report confirms what we have been observing for the last several months that Chinese microbloggers are being taken seriously by the Chinese authorities. This is really a continuation of the ancient petition system whereby any citizen can appeal directly to the emperor for redress. Since travelling to Beijing may be costly and time consuming, microblogging may be the 21st century alternative if the authorities are actually going to listen and do something about the grievance.  This report indicates that this is happening.

Xinhua: “China has the world’s largest number of microbloggers, said a latest report on the country’s new media development.

File:Sina Weibo.svg

The report, published by the Social Sciences Academic Press annually, quoted the China Internet Network Information Center (CINIC), which said that about 274 million Chinese people had microblog accounts as of June this year.

The number of microbloggers increased sharply from about 63 million in 2010, said the report issued by a team of social sciences experts headed by Yin Yungong, director of the Institute of Journalism and Communication of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Microblogging has become an important channel for Chinese people to express themselves, particularly about public issues, it said.

It has also become an easy and low-cost communication channel between the government and citizens, the report said. At Sina Weibo, a leading microblogging service, 18,132 accounts have been registered by the Party and government departments and officials as of last October.

Social networks like microblogging have begun to set the agenda of public opinions and affected public emotions in some incidents, like the high-speed train crash near Wenzhou, in east China’s Zhejiang Province, in July last year, the report said.

Governments have realized the influence of social networks and put more effort in working with them, it said.

Research by the report’s authors from July to December last year showed that the authorities responded to about 71.9 percent of issues that were widely discussed by microbloggers and 50.4 percent were within 24 hours.”

via China has most microbloggers in the world: report – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

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Posted in China alert, Good news, Petition, Politics, social media, Technology | Leave a Comment »

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18/06/2012

* China publishes books on officials’ morality

Xinhua: “A book series expounding the moral issues of officials, the first-ever publication on the topic in China, was released for sale Monday in Beijing as part of government-backed efforts to promote integrity among civil servants.

The four-book series embodies the results of research conducted by experts with the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences at the request of Beijing authorities two years ago, according to a report published by the Beijing Daily.

The books record the development of theories about officials’ morality through Chinese history and provide case studies, as well as highlight the importance of raising officials’ moral standards in modern society, an official with the Beijing Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was quoted as saying in the report.

The major difference between good and bad officials simply lies in whether they perform duties with a conscience, says the prologue of the series.

Nowadays, the CPC, as the ruling party, must value virtues of officials and it is a general trend for officials to abide by professional ethics, according to a passage in one of the books.

The book also points out a moral official in modern China should always serve the people as well as be loyal, pragmatic, fair-minded and incorruptible, while always improving oneself.

The series will serve as anti-graft reading material for all Communist Party cadres in Beijing, according to the report.”

via China publishes books on officials’ morality – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

Let’s hope the cadres take this book as seriously as their forebears took Mao’s Red Book.

Posted in China alert, corruption, Good news, Illegal practices, Rule of law | 2 Comments »

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