INTRO: segment number four -- "Urban Poverty"

THERE IS A SAYING THAT THE GOOD COMES WITH THE BAD....AND IN THE CASE OF CHINA'S ECONOMIC REFORM THAT APPEARS TO BE THE CASE.  IN PART FOUR OF OUR SERIES POSTCARDS FROM CHINA....ERIC OLANDER REPORTS THAT ACCOMPANYING THE LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE PROFITED THANKS TO A MORE OPEN MARKETPLACE....ARE THOSE WHO HAVEN'T HAD THE SAME FORTUNE. (:16)

STORY:

GIVEN THAT CHINA HAS TWENTY PERCENT OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION AND ONLY ELEVEN PERCENT OF THE GLOBE'S ARABLE LAND...THE COUNTRY DOES A REMARKABLE JOB IN FEEDING ITSELF.  BUT CRACKS ARE BEGINNING TO APPEAR IN THE SO-CALLED IRON RICE BOWL.  ONE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE OF ECONOMIC REFORM IS THE FURTHER GENTRIFICATION OF SOCIETY....FORMING CLEARLY DEFINED UPPER...MIDDLE AND LOWER CLASSES.  AS EVERY DAY GOES BY...MAO'S VISION OF A CLASSLESS SOCIETY IS SLOWLY BEING ERODED.(:24)

TO SEE JUST WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT JOIN ME FOR A STROLL DOWN ANY OF THE COUNTRY'S MAIN BOULEVARDS...WHETHER IT'S NANJING EAST ROAD IN SHANGHAI...CHANG AN ROAD IN BEIJING OR HO-PING ROAD IN GUANGZHOU...THE SITUATION IS THE SAME.  BEAUTIFUL DEPARTMENT STORES LINE THE STREETS...IMPORTED CARS WHIZ BY AND PEOPLE EVERYWHERE ARE TALKING ON CELLULAR PHONES.  BUT BENEATH ALL THIS ARE HOMELESS PEOPLE...LINED ALL ALONG THE STREET.  IN SHANGHAI'S COMMERCIAL DISTRICT FOR EXAMPLE...IT'S DIFFICULT FOR A FOREIGNER TO WALK JUST A BLOCK WITHOUT BEING SOLICITED  FOR MONEY BY A LEAST ONE PERSON.  AND IN SOME OF THE CITY'S TOURIST DISTRICTS....CHILD BEGGARS FOLLOWED ME FOR AS LONG AS FIFTEEN MINUTES.(:58)

WHO ARE CHINA'S URBAN POOR?  WELL I HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH SEVERAL GROUPS OF PEOPLE IN THREE DIFFERENT CITIES WHO ALL CLAIMED THEY WERE HOMELESS.  THEIR STORIES WERE FRIGHTENINGLY SIMILAR.  THEY WERE ALL FROM THE COUNTRYSIDE AND CAME TO THE CITY LAST YEAR IN THE HOPES OF FINDING A JOB AND EARNING SOME MONEY.  IN THE CASES OF THE WOMEN I SPOKE WITH....THEY SAID SOON AFTER THEIR HUSBANDS COULDN'T FIND WORK THEY ABANDONED THEM AND THE CHILDREN.  THIS MAY EXPLAIN WHY THERE APPEARS TO BE A DISPROPORTIONATE NUMBER OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN LIVING ON THE STREETS. SINCE THEY HAVE TO CARE FOR THE YOUNG...THERE IS NO WAY A HOMELESS WOMAN CAN GO OUT AND GET A JOB.  AS FOR THE MEN....THEY TOLD ME EVERYDAY THEY GO TO THE CONSTRUCTION SITES AND LABOR MARKETS LOOKING TO BE EMPLOYED.  IT'S SIMPLY IMPOSSIBLE GIVEN THE LARGE MIGRATIONS OF PEASANTS TO THE CITIES WHO HAVE SIMILAR AMBITIONS.  AND ONE MAN SAID HE JUST GAVE UP...WITH THE JOB MARKET TOO DESPERATE AND NO MONEY TO GO HOME WITH...HE SAID PANHANDLING WAS HIS LAST RESORT BEFORE STARVATION. (1:47) NOW...AS WITH THE POOR IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD...DRUGS AND ALCOHOL ARE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS....WHETHER THEY CAUSE THE POVERTY THOUGH OR ARE A RESULT OF IT IS HARD TO TELL.  THE PEOPLE I SPOKE WITH ALL SAID THEY DON'T DRINK OR DO DRUGS...BUT ADMIT THAT IT IS COMMON AMONG OTHERS WHO LIVE ON THE STREET.  THEY ALSO SAID THERE WERE QUITE OF FEW PEOPLE IN NEED OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE WHO HAD NO PLACE TO GO.(2:04)

ALL OF THEM INDICATED THAT THE SITUATION IS GETTING A LOT WORSE.  AS THE ECONOMY IN THE COUNTRYSIDE CONTINUES TO STAY FLAT ALONG WITH A SATURATED LABOR MARKET IN THE CITIES...AND AN INFRASTRUCTURE THAT ISN'T READY TO DEAL WITH LARGE NUMBERS OF URBAN POOR....THE ONLY OPTION FOR THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WILL BE TO LIVE ON THE STREETS.

IT'S IMPERATIVE TO PUT THIS SCENARIO IN CONTEXT.  PRESENTLY THERE ARE NO WHERE NEAR THE NUMBERS OF HOMELESS PEOPLE ON CHINA'S STREETS COMPARED TO ANY LARGE AMERICAN CITY. BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THE SITUATION ISN'T BAD AND GETTING WORSE.

URBAN POVERTY PRESENTS CERTAIN POLICY PROBLEMS FOR THE GOVERNMENT.  THE COMMUNIST PARTY HAS LONG MAINTAINED THAT IT BELIEVES SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS ARE THE PRIMARY HUMAN RIGHTS TO BE PROTECTED BY THE STATE....WHILE CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS ARE SECONDARY IN NATURE.  AND THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT HAS FREQUENTLY POINTED TO THE PROBLEM OF HOMELESSNESS IN THE WEST AS EXAMPLES OF HOW SO-CALLED CAPITALIST SYSTEMS FAIL TO PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF THEIR PEOPLE.  WITH THE CONTRADICTION OF HOMELESS AND URBAN POVERTY BECOMING INCREASINGLY VISIBLE IN CHINESE SOCIETY....IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THE GOVERNMENT RESPONDS.

WITH A POSTCARD FROM CHINA....I'M ERIC OLANDER IN SHANGHAI. (3:15)

OUTRO:

IN OUR NEXT POSTCARD...ERIC REPORTS FROM THE BEAUTIFUL OF GUILIN ON THE GROWTH OF CHINA'S DOMESTIC TOURISM INDUSTRY.

© BBC World Service 1993