One China, One Dream? - CDYF-Dialogue - 歪酷博客 Ycool Blog

by Fan GAO*

On June the 24th, 2007, Beijing announced its official slogan for the 2008 Olympics, ‘One World, One Dream’. The slogan conveys China’s desire to create a bright future for people all around the world, according to Liu Qi, president of BOCOG, the organizing committee for China’s 2008 Olympics. Yet even in China, a universal dream for everyone appears too Utopian to be able to materialize – if one were to take a look at its rural villages.

A recent survey conducted by Asian Development Bank (ADB) sees China’s Gini Coefficient rising from 0.41 in 1993 to 0.47 in 2004, and thus putting China ahead of the United States (which has a Gini Coefficient of 0.46) in the list of countries where income is the most unequally distributed. Although consequences of income disparity are slow in unraveling, tragedies happen. In March, 2007, a stand-off between villagers and over 1500 police and paramilitary force in Hunan Province ended in a bloodshed that cost the life of a middle school student. The incident, triggered by a doubling of bus fares during the Chinese New Year holiday, shows how far-fetched the dream of a bright future appears to some of China’s rural residents.

The Central Government is not unwilling to initiate some changes. In the most recent session of the National People’s Congress, $ 392bn was announced to be spent on rural development in 2007, a big improvement from a rather shabby $ 52bn in 2006. The increase in budget was accompanied by a host of initiatives such as the passing of a property law reiterating the need to compensate the farmers adequately for expropriation of their land, and a campaign for abolishing school fees for the first nine years of education, a measure that has since a long time ago taken effect in China’s developed urban areas.

All with excellent intentions. Yet villagers have no illusion about the probity or competency of China’s local officials to carry them out according to the originators’ intent. Firstly, some projects demand too much co-operation between various levels of the government: so instead of sharing the responsibility, officials chose to shift the blame. Secondly, local governments are often involved in the unfair expropriation of farmers’ land – they use their power to seize the land, lease it to developers, and collect massive profits. The increased subsidies ended up in the strongboxes of village officials, who chose at their own liberty to pack classrooms with unqualified teachers, at the villagers’ expense.

Meanwhile, poverty prevails. 11% of the population still lives on less than $ 1 per day, with no access to healthcare, social service or basic education. Yes, the number is decreasing, thanks to rapid economic growth, and more relaxed government policies on employment in urban areas by rural villagers – but not fast enough. Productivity in the agricultural section is still trailing, with more efficient farming methods, modern machineries and high-yielding seed varieties yet to be adopted.

We used to dream of an independent China – together. Paradigm has since shifted, and when faced with a plethora of competing agendas, the Central Government seems to be pursuing a dream that’s not for everyone. Maybe it’s time to pick up those who are left behind, and start to dream together – once again.

*Fan GAO ( gaofantasia@gmail.com) will study in Columbia University this fall. She is a core member of China Development Youth Forum and manager of our Facebook Group.