By JULIA DAY, STEPS Centre member
The eyes of the world are focussed firmly on China as the Olympic Games get into full swing. A television audience of a billion souls witnessed the unrivalled razmatazz of Beijing’s opening ceremony in the space-age ‘Bird’s Nest’ stadium, in a city seemingly full of dazzling architecture and heady nationalistic pride.
But what are some of the challenges facing poorer people in the China beyond the pristine Olympic showcase of Beijing?
Watch Gerry Bloom, the STEPS Centre’s health convenor, talk about some of the issues facing people in rural China.
And for more on development in China, take a look at the IDS spotlight on China.
China is a three to four tier society. Most of Beijing is relatively prosperous but those outside (the migrant workers) have rebuilt the city for the Olympics but are not part of the celebrations.
More importantly in a world where managed population decline is a serious topic does the Asian ‘tiered society’ look like a more pragmatic societal model than unilateral economic prosperity for everyone.
It’s a dangerous thought but one that needs to be thought through with the next 300 million Chinese peasants expected to move to the cities in the next 20 years.