Introduction1
- China Blue1
- Bitter Seeds1
Overview of China and India1
- similarities2
- Differences2
political economy,3
- economic reforms,4
- Resistance to exploitation5
- Living standards5
- Sweat shops6
- Rural urban migration6
International trade ethics7
- World Trade Membership7
China Blue vs Bitter seeds
The main reason we choose to discuss this Jasmines China Blue story is the immense effect it had on young Chinese women. Lured by the urge to be involved in the promising “New China” reformation economic plan, they are leaving their rural villages in their millions and flocking to the cities of especially southern China. What is shocking is the surprise they encounter as they are exploited, in every way possible, by the companies they work for.
Jasmine's desperate life in a jeans company for the sake of supporting her family is not only a touching story but also represents the condition of many young Chinese girls of her age. The China Blue documentary reveals both fascinating and shocking facts about China's economy since the country became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Bitter Seeds
Desperation and poor living standards are some of the causes to India's increased rate of suicidal cases in the last 16 years. Manjusha, 18, is a victim of suicide. Her father, one of the 250,000 poor BT cotton farmers, committed suicide by taking one of his crops' pesticides. Most of these farmers are trapped in a pattern and cycle of debts so as to make a living. Any minor loss or causes great damage to their families as they wholly depend on the crops success. Manjusha ventures into the urban center with an aim to save her family but unlike Jasmine in China, she attempts, through her job as a journalist, to publicize the desperation farmers in her home area undergo with hope for a final solution.
China
With a population of approximately 20% of the world's 7 billion, China's population regulation policy focused on limiting migration alongside controlling the birth-rate. The country introduced a household registration system that lists everyone in a specific location usually, their place of birth. There are 800 million Chinese in rural China and 500 million in the urban centers. Despite China's policies on restriction of internal migration since 1950, large numbers of rural Chinese are not only still leaving their villages for cities and coastal provinces, the rate of migration is expected to rise. Those intending to change household registration may seek permission. However, most migrants cannot raise the USD 12,000 required for work permits and still save enough. They would rather maintain their links to their local villages fearing deportation.
India
India follows China closely as the second most populous country but with a greater growth rate than China. Ritesh Kumar notes that dependence on exports to Japan and Korea have brought major losses in its economy. The free market has had more damage than good to the poor country. Free trade with China has cost India a great fortune. The cheap imports from China have troubled India's manufacturing sector and has accounted for over 50% if India's current economic deficit (financial year 2012-2013). Since the 2011, the tourist industry (which accounts most of India's income) has dropped considerably despite the diverse geographical scenes and rich cultural heritage. Among the factors hinted to cause the lapse includes; growing rate of sexual assaults against women tourists.
Similarities between China and India
Population float exceeding 1 billion people is only in the two nations. Both countries face the problem of crowded cities and highest levels of unemployment in the world owing to their great numbers.
Differences between China and India
The factors responsible for the negative impact on agriculture are diverse in the two countries: in China, it is circumstantial and optional as the laborers prefer urban industries to the low income farm jobs. In India, however, the conditions have been forced upon them by (the WTO) taking advantage of illiterate farmers. India's farmers are forced to give up their land as security to loans from money lenders (most banks reject their loan proposals) ultimately loosing the land when they fail to pay the loans. The money is needed to buy prescribed seeds, pesticides, fertilizer (at very high prices) and labor. Economic reforms
With cheap farm products flooding the market, there is less demand for unskilled labor in China rural areas. The workers who are replaced by farm equipment leave to seek jobs in urban centers.
China's Political economy
Economic reforms
The restructured economy included the reduction of import barriers and privatization of major government enterprises which lead to increase in unemployment. In contrast, free market is expected increase foreign investment and creates jobs. However, it may also speed up the migration of laborers from farms as cheaper farm products are allowed in the China market. The desperate young people of between 20-35 years prefer manual jobs to local government jobs that are no longer reliable as government officials and teachers may often go unpaid for months. The abandonment of agriculture due to low wage rates rapidly stagnates rural China.
Resistance to exploitation
Since 2005, there have been 74,000 incidents of mass action (according to Chinese Ministry of Public Security). In 1982, the Chinese Government abolished the right to strike, citing the dangers it poses to the safety of the citizens and the negative impact on the economy. It is also, therefore, illegal for Chinese workers to form independent trade unions or indulge in activist action. These restrictions, however do not hinder agitated workers to protest over especially; unpaid wages. In the protests, they barricade roads, organize full strikes or slowdowns to stand up for their rights.
The lack of democratic procedures and transparency in the state bureaucracy encourages corruption in the factories. Most protests occur in private industries rather than government industries owing to the strict and severe penalties stipulated by the government.
Living standards
Supporters of the free market ideology believe that the liberal phenomenon may have its setbacks but still is the best option to improve the lives of the majority of the population. China and India (the most populous countries in the world) are as a matter of fact, the best examples of the success story of liberal globalization. Although the trades leads to an initial growth in inequality in social classes due to the effect of an upward socio-economic mobility, experts claim that tolerating the changes will benefit the country over time. In summary, both the citizens and their government have cost to pay before they can improve their economy.
Most complaints indicate low wages and late payment by the corrupt officials. There are cases where workers go six months without pay or if they are paid on time; it is never the full amount. With their lives (and their families') depending on the meager wages for survival, the workers are put at extremely desperate conditions because some of them commute from the countryside due to inability to pay the fees necessary for shifting locations.
Sweat shops
The revelation of the fact that among Chinese workers powering the country’s economy include minors (under-age children) in factories in the southern coast, is not only shocking, but also against the law of China. Although the government only allows 17 year olds to work, fake documents are readily available for the younger desperate children. With these fake documents, 14 and 15 year olds often get employment illegally. The factories benefit from this phenomenon by reduction in protests and complaints as the younger illegal workers are more submissive owing to their desperation to earn wages. With barely any training, there is an increased case of employee injuries and machine breakdowns. The management of most factories focuses their efforts to maximize profits at the expense of the safety of the workers. As they management neglects the urgency to repair equipment or install necessary safety features such as fire extinguishers and machine guards, the result is unnecessary, avoidable injuries for instance, loss of hands or health hazards caused by contact with toxic and poisonous substances in the factories.
Rural urban migration
A record 130 million migrants left their rural homes in 2005 to work at the lowest wages available in urban centers with limited security or legal protection. Most of the 130 million migrants are desperate women and young girls making the movement the largest women migration in the world. What is more is the fact that the publicity of the phenomenon has yet to arouse enough concern and action from the government of China to date. The rapid growth of rural-urban migration that attracted 100million migrants in the 1990s (mostly on short-term contracts), is attributed to the restructuring of the agricultural sector in rural parts of China. The dependence on agriculture rapidly shifted to the market economy creating large regional disparities in the growth of the economy as the farm laborers were shifted to manual jobs in the cities. The migrant labor has had great impacts on the new city industries. The large labor contribution from these untrained workers has effectively established stable competition among the labor-intensive coastal factories.
International trade ethics
World Trade Membership
All countries are expected to adhere to the regulations of international trade transactions and activities which include imports, exports and financial transactions such as government loans. Internal control and management systems must also be established to ensure all merchandise is examined and is compliant with all regulatory requirements in addition to taxes necessary.
Some governments establish their own restrictions against specific countries or nationals of some countries. Restrictions administered include sanctions, embargoes and prohibition of transactions with organizations such as terrorism groups, narcotic traffickers or weapons proliferates.
The membership to the World Trade Organization in 2001 opened the market to competing foreign investors who often take advantage of the low wage-rate in China leading to the exploitation of especially semi-illiterate young Chinese citizens.
In India, imbalanced trade with superior neighbors since joining the World Trade Organization has contributed a great deal to its deficits. Worse is the fact that India is not in control or in a position to improve the situation. The United States has proposed a policy that consists two trade pacts: the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Partnership. If successful, these two parts may encompass two thirds of the World GDP and a third of global imports pushing India high in financial independence.
