#poverty in china

[workersolidarity]

From 1990 to 2019, the People's Republic of China has gone from a Poverty rate of 99%, to a poverty rate of less than 25% in just 29 years.

And just in the period of time Xi Jinping has been General Secretary of Communist Party of China, or the CPC, the Poverty rate in China has halved.

Poverty in that time in the US has been highly unequally distributed, with poverty rates increasing in some areas, decreasing in others, but largely remaining in similar territory since the 1970's. But the larger context shows a considerable destruction of wealth depending on when you were born with poverty rates lowest for those 65 and over, with much higher poverty rates among children.

The pattern suggests a dichotomy between the rapid rise of China and its attending decline in poverty, versus a slowly declining United States and the associated increases in poverty on younger generations. Though again, it depends largely on the state in which you live and how much your state invests in anti-poverty programs.

[soopermexican]

Do Democrats really believe Chinese people live better than Americans?

SO I came upon a fascinating little tweet today that blew my mind. Check it out below: Capitalism: “I got mines. Sucks to be you!” Communism/socialism: “We all have, therefore you have” But their system is wrong & ours is right We really have been indoctrinated Reminder: There are no homeless people in China & Cuba has free healthcare But we’re “the best” 🙄 — Stacey 🍴💰 (@KeyDecision1) May 6,…

[lilithism1848]

[probablyasocialecologist]

From 1981 to 1990, when most of China’s socialist provisioning systems were still in place, the country’s extreme poverty rate was on average only 5.6 per cent, substantially lower than in capitalist economies of comparable size and income at the time: 51 per cent in India, 36.5 per cent in Indonesia, and 29.5 per cent in Brazil. China's comparatively strong performance is corroborated by data on other social indicators. Moreover, extreme poverty in China increased during the capitalist reforms of the 1990s, reaching a peak of 68 per cent, as privatisation inflated the prices of essential goods and thus deflated the incomes of the working classes. These results indicate that socialist provisioning policies can be effective at preventing extreme poverty, while market reforms may threaten people's ability to meet basic needs.

Capitalist reforms and extreme poverty in China: unprecedented progress or income deflation?

[nando161mando]

It's a mess

[sataniccapitalist]

The Real Chinese ‘Threat’: Lifting 850 Million Out of Poverty

[deepseacityunderground]

beginning to see american "if you dont vote for the blue warmongerers then you are personally responsible for the red warmongerers getting into power"

[zvaigzdelasas]

Doesn't the presence of the sort of conditions the workers in China face at apple factories and the like, which aren't worker owned negate the lipservice to Marxism the ccp gives? It would seem that driving out foreign owned bourgeoisie factory owners would be important to that end. I wish that they were less liberal in this way.

So you didn't read the links I posted huh?

[reasonsforhope]

““When I first came here, I was in poverty,” says Nong Thi Dieu, a 37-year-old farmer and member of the Indigenous Tay people. “I did not have enough milk to feed my children. But that’s changed. Thanks to this plant, I’m no longer poor.”

In the misty subtropical mountains of Thạch An, a district in Vietnam’s remote north populated by ethnic minorities with high levels of poverty, Thạch Đen, or black jello, a traditional snack, has been identified as a climate-adapted recipe for prosperity.

The region has the perfect soil type and weather for growing the plant that is used to concoct black jello, which has a light yet deeply aromatic, herbal flavor. However, until recently, the black jello plant was largely cultivated on small patches of land by individual farmers. The lack of standardization led to an erratic output, with quality too variable to meet official market requirements, and therefore sold at low prices...

Yet black jello — which needs little investment, requires no pesticides to cultivate and has health benefits — has significant economic potential. Beyond its popularity as a regional dessert, the plant is also used for drinks, medicines and even cosmetics.

For those reasons, in 2017 district authorities began efforts to scale up the region’s production. A program known as the Commercial Smallholder Support Project run by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a United Nations agency, supported local small-scale growers in learning how to grow black jello plants in new, climate change-adapted conditions — for example, on sloped terrain with limited water supplies — and provided technical support to improve yields, including techniques on seedbed preparation, harvesting and drying the plants.

Half a decade later, Vietnam’s rural poor are cooking up success with black jello. In 2021, 492 hectares of black jello were produced in Thạch An — with 550 kilograms created per hectare. Each kilogram, more profitable than staple crops, is sold for around 40,000 Vietnamese Dong (US $1.64), meaning the district earns up to 100 billion Dong (US $4 million) a year, with exports heading to China, Thailand and India, as well as across Vietnam, where it is sold in supermarkets from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City...

The district of Thạch An — home to three of Vietnam’s ethnic minorities, the Tay, Nung and Zao-Yao — has long had high rates of poverty among the villages scattered across the karst landscape, some of which still don’t have electricity.

But that’s quickly changing: in 2017, when the IFAD program began, the poverty rate was 67 percent, but has since tumbled to 42 percent. Given this success, IFAD has been working with district authorities to develop a black jello processing industry capable of managing production throughout the entire province...

Beyond the training, IFAD provided other important support, building a new main road for merchants to reach the district’s villages and for farmers to access markets. Each community also set up a common interest group (CIG) with representatives from local families to support the wider vision — investment in storage, for example, helps farmers to reduce losses during the rainy season. As part of the CIG, farmers are able to easily exchange information and access financial support when needed.

Thạch An’s CIG was able to increase its growing area to 2.5 hectares, and, through collective bargaining and more stable harvests, it has raised its income five-fold since 2017. “I’m happier since I joined the group,” says Din Thi Hoi, a 50-year-old farmer from Na Po. “We work together. We exchange and help each other.”” -via Reasons to Be Cheerful, 12/19/22

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

February 9 — The death toll from the unprecedented scale of the 7.8-magnitude quake that hit Turkey and Syria is now over 23,000. As of this writing, almost 70,000 people have been injured, and some 315,000 displaced. At least 24 million people and 4 million buildings were affected.

Human catastrophe looms for the survivors, who are now homeless and exposed to harsh winter conditions. The infrastructure that provides water and food is destroyed.  

Biden and U.S. response lacking

President Joe Biden did not allude to this tragedy during his Feb. 7 “State of the Union”.  On Feb. 6, Biden sent a perfunctory message to the Turkish government, offering unspecified support.  

To date, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which helps fund the “regime change” National Endowment for Democracy (NED), has announced that they are sending two rescue teams. One team is from the Los Angeles County Firefighters, and the other is the Virginia Task Force-1.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that there will be no assistance for Syria. Period.

On the other hand, China has already announced $5.9 million in aid to Turkey and $4.4 million to Syria. China’s search and rescue teams, both governmental and private, are on the ground.

[eaglesnick]

Smart people instinctively understand the dangers of entrusting our future to self-serving leaders who use our institutions, whether in the corporate or social sectors, to advance their own interests.   James C Colins

I discussed yesterday the catastrophic consequences of David Cameron’s policy of austerity, one academic study claiming 333,000 excess deaths can be attributed to the cuts to public services and benefits  inflicted by Cameron as part of his austerity package.

Needless to say, it was the poor that suffered while the rich became richer still. The hardships of austerity were for ordinary working people to endure, not the rich friends of the Tory Party.

“We often hear David Cameron say: "We're all in this together." The truth is that Mr Cameron and his cabinet of millionaires sit there in a pool of cash whilst there are over three million children in Britain living in poverty. Under the Tories, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Whether it's dinners for donors in Downing Street or giving millionaires a tax-cut, it's the same old Tories who leave all the ordinary hard-working people of this country to suffer.” (HUFFPOST: 25/01/14)

After a further five years of austerity nothing had changed:

“Rich getting richer while poor get poorer, official figures show – with ‘Brexit and benefits freeze to blame'."  (Independent: 26/02/19)

Not only was Cameron (together with George Osborne) responsible for the devastating cuts to public service funding and benefit payments, but he also led us into the quagmire that was Brexit.

Whatever your views on Brexit, it has been an economic disaster for this country and the blame for this can be squarely laid at the door of David Cameron.

"Many will never forgive him for the almost offhand way he steered Britain into an unnecessary Brexit cul-de-sac, and the ramifications of his mistake continue to cast a pall over the country."  (Evening Standard: 14/11/23)

The Evening Standard, is usually a Tory supporting newspaper but even they recognise that Cameron was being totally self-serving in calling for a referendum on our membership of the EU, a decision that had more to do with saving the Tory Party (and his premiership) from the consequences of a right-wing split and the rise of UKIP to Tory MP seats.

“Cameron chose to commit to a vote, not because the country’s population was clamouring for one but because a significant minority of his own MPs, many of them frustrated by the constraints of coalition, were demanding that he do so – some because they feared that UKIP would cost them their seat (or the seats of too many of their colleagues) at the next election, some because they wanted out of the European Union and were more than happy to leverage that fear to their advantage.” (ukandeu.ac.uk: Why David Cameron called the 2016 referendum – and why he lost’ : 04/10/22)

As if this were not enough, Cameron was not averse to using his political connections to potentially line his own pockets after he had resigned as PM. In 2022, MP’s condemned Cameron for lobbying on behalf of his banking employer, Greensill.

“The Treasury select committee said in July 2021 that it was inappropriate of the ex-prime minister to send 62 messages to former colleagues pleading for them to help the controversial bank, for which he worked and in which he owned stock options that could have been worth tens of millions of pounds.” (Guardian: 13/11/23)

Cameron also risked the security of this country by cosying up to China. Declaring that he was determined to make Britain Beijing’s partner of choice, he signed  £40bn worth of deals with China claiming:

“What this really means is jobs, it means livelihoods, it means security.”

Whatever else it meant it did not mean security.

“China represents the "largest state-based threat" to Britain's economic security, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden has told the BBC. It comes as figures show the government intervened in eight attempted takeovers of UK firms by Chinese buyers last year over national security fears.”  (BBC News: 11/07/23)

It did however mean a job for David Cameron:

“Former British PM Cameron gets new job as vice-chairman of China-UK fund.” (The Straits Times: 19/12/17)

Cameron, like many Tories, is a man who, despite his patriotic rhetoric, is prepared to put the Conservative Party and his own career above the best interests of the country as a whole. He is a man of poor economic judgement, a man who acts for the benefit of his rich friends and is quite prepared to endanger our security of our nation  for the short term benefit of making a few extra pounds.  He is not fit to be Foreign Secretary and Rishi Sunak should never have appointed him.

[lilithism1848]

Housing and property in China

This is a post to introduce the situation of housing in Mainland China.

First, few things need to be highlighted:

a. All urban land in China belongs to the State. No private or community ownership is allowed for urban land.

b. All rural land belongs to the natural village community who live on the land. No private ownership is allowed; transfer of land between communities is also banned.

c. All major banks are state owned. All other banks are owned by local governments. Usually when a private developer needs to develop some land, they need to take a loan from some bank to get the funding needed.

Because of these three facts, the State and local governments have overwhelming leverage in deciding which land to develop and how.

Legally speaking, a developer does not 'buy' a piece of land, but rather they buy a license from the government to develop a certain piece of urban land for a specific purpose under a specified period (usually 70 years.) If you get a license for building houses, you can't build shops or factories on it. The way you develop it has to be according to the licensed purpose.

Now, there are three categories of housing in China:

(a) Urban commercialized housing: the owner of the housing has 100% ownership of the apartment (but not the land, which is only licensed for usually 70 years.). Commercialized housing can be sublicensed for rent or be sold or whatever. To control the commercial housing bubble, many cities in China have a policy of limiting the numbers of housing a person/firm can own in that city.*

(b) Urban government-subsidized housing. (so-called mini-ownership housing) This kind of housing has a much lower price-tag than type (a). In fact, you don't get to own the house, but only a certain proportion of it. The rest of the housing is owned by (usually) the local government or the (usually a public enterprise, university, etc) employer. Your ownership cannot be sold or inherited by your kids. The housing usually cannot be sublet. You are only entitled to live in the housing, and in some cases have to hand your ownership back (with compensation of course) to its government/public enterprise owner if you no longer work at the place.

Mini-ownership housing is one of the major benefits of working a public job, in the local government or some other public enterprise, for people who otherwise cannot afford commercialized housing. It is important to keep in mind that most quality schools, universities and hospitals in China are public-owned, so mini-ownership housing gives a strong incentive to highly-qualified people to work a public job.

Most university professors, school teachers, public firm employees, functionaries, party cadres etc now live in this type of housing.

(c) Rural private housing. A rural resident is allowed to carve out a small piece of community-owned land to build their own house. They have 100% ownership. The house can be sublet. It can be sold, but only to another member of the same community who has not yet built a house of his own or a community-owned enterprise. It cannot be sold to someone from outside the community or a private developer. A sale of such a house, even within the rural community must be approved by a committee of community members.

I hope this helps when people look at China's property market (it usually refers to the urban commercialized housing market).

*: as of late, because it is believed that the property market has largely already been de-bubbled, these limitation rules are laxed in some cities.

[georgebbwbush]

deng xiaoping's ghost is physically manifesting on my dash

[newsbites]

News from Africa, 19 June

Hage Geingob will host Danish PM Mette Frederiksen and Dutch PM Mark Rutte today in Namibia. Green hydrogen will reportedly be among the subjects discussed.

2. Namibia's proposed visa exemption for Chinese nationals is a bilateral agreement that would benefit both countries, according to China's ambassador to Namibia, Zhao Weiping.

Some Namibian politicians have objected to the proposal, with opposition leader McHenry Venaani claiming it is a "hoodwinking process" for Chinese prisoners to come to the country, and aspiring presidential candidate Job Amupanda alleging that it involves a deal between the ruling party and China to garner support for next year's elections.

The proposed agreement's main goal is to attract Chinese tourists and help Namibia become competitive again after the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Namibia's minister of home affairs, immigration, safety and security, Albert Kawana.

3. Angola and Zambia signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation in information technology, including digital transformation, AI, and space technology.

The agreement includes the establishment of direct cross-border optical fibre backbone connectivity between the two countries, scheduled to happen this month.

The collaboration is expected to help improve the regulation of the Angolan and Zambian telecom markets and lead to improved coverage and quality of ICT services provided in both countries.

4. Namibia is embarking on a journey of digital transformation to modernize various aspects of the country's life.

The Department of Home Affairs, Immigration and Security recently announced the successful implementation of an online passport application system, a major step towards delivering home affairs government services through digital channels. Namibia is partnering with Estonia to bring government services online and gradually prepare citizens for the transformation ahead. The Vice Minister of ICT recognizes the importance of foreign direct investment (FDI) for African technology spaces, but stresses the need for a clear roadmap or strategy to ensure that solutions developed in Africa fit the lifestyle on the continent.

5. Nigeria has 71 million people living in extreme poverty and 133 million people are classified as multidimensionally poor, according to 2023 data from the World Poverty Clock and the National Bureau of Statistics.

6. The Bank of Namibia increased the repo rate to safeguard the dollar-rand peg and contain inflationary pressures, but this will severely impact consumers who rely on debt to survive.

The governor expressed empathy for people losing their homes due to rising debt costs, and urged the nation to find better solutions to keep more Namibians in their homes while maintaining financial stability.

7. The fighting in Sudan has caused a surge in refugees fleeing to South Sudan, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.

The UN has called for $253 million in funding to respond to the crisis, but donations have been slow to come in.

The lack of resources and funding has led to inadequate food, water, and sanitation facilities in transit camps, resulting in malnutrition, disease, and preventable deaths.

[nando161mando]

It’s no longer glorious to get rich in China

https://www.ft.com/content/0675c56b-5c4b-4f99-869d-6af6a0588bf5

https://www.removepaywall.com/

https://12ft.io/

https://paywallreader.com/

[singingrainbows]

A glimpse inside Hong Kong’s notorious subdivided homes

(This is kinda hard to watch.)