The two premier Leaders of PR China had celebrated their Lunar New Year by visiting the poorest in the community - the Rural Poor, to feel and educate themselves of the real situation in rural China.
While we call ourselves as the First World, there remains a large section in our Singapore Community still stuck in the Third World environment of 1-Room, 2-Room and 3-Rooms flats RENTED from the HDB.
Have we ever seen the PM, SM, DPM, or any other Ministers actually visiting the poorest in our Community, to view their living environment, their economic situation, their immediate needs - even on a normal day outside election periods, and let alone during a major festive period ?
More often then not, it will be the Charity, Grassroot, Community Workers, and the Charitable Public, who are left with the tasks to attend to the unfortunate many, who have been left behind as the rest progressed.CHINA'S MIGRANT WORKERS
A lesson on poverty - from the fireworks By LEE CHEE KENG
FOR THE STRAITS TIMES
BEIJING -- Recently, a retired professor invited me to spend Chinese New Year eve at his home in the Beijing suburbs. You will get a real feel of Chinese New Year here, he said.
Before dinner that evening, we watched the news on TV reporting on Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Hebei province earlier that day.
The president's call on the farmers on Chinese New Year eve was significant. He toured the village of Xishungou, visited the home of one farmer and joined the family in making dumplings, a New Year tradition in northern China. He urged local cadres to focus on alleviating poverty among farmers, and ensure that all villagers, especially the poorer ones, could afford dumplings during the festive time.
In another family, he asked their son, who has worked as a construction worker in Beijing, if he had received his wages. The son replied: 'I worked there for seven months last year and have received the three thousand I've earned.'
While President Hu was in Hebei, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, accompanied by local leaders, toured the central province of Henan. Along the way, he ordered his car to stop at the Zhaodi Village of Langgongmiao Town. Braving the freezing winter cold, Mr Wen asked villagers about their Chinese New Year preparations, and encouraged them to grow more food. He also visited the homes of villagers and asked about their family incomes, health care and children's schooling.
These visits by the two top Chinese leaders to rural villages were given prime media coverage. It has been noted that commoners and lower income groups occupy an important place in the new leadership's agenda.
In the weeks prior to the New Year - which the Chinese prefer to call the Spring Festival - lower income groups, such as villagers in poorer areas and retired workers, were very much in the news. Migrant workers in major Chinese cities, waiting to collect their unpaid wages so that they can go home for the New Year, were especially in the limelight.
These migrant workers are mostly young farmers from rural China who went to major cities in search of work. Most became construction workers. Those from the same village or town tend to group together. A group leader would often get work from a subcontractor, who in turn could be working for another subcontractor upstream.
Over the years, migrant workers not getting paid for their labour has become a common phenomenon. At the lowest end in the complex myriad of subcontractors, some have waited for years for their wages. Some resorted to kidnapping their subcontractors to demand for their wages. Some were beaten up by their subcontractors when they were too persistent in demanding their wages.
Along with these stories, the media carries many reports of local governments across China helping migrant workers to recover their unpaid wages.
On the first day of the Chinese New Year, there was even a small column in a Beijing local paper on the Chinese Embassy in Singapore helping Chinese migrant workers caught in the plight.
These stories and reports give one the impression that assisting migrant workers to recover their unpaid wages has become another national movement in modern China.
The movement was sparked off, apparently, in October when Premier Wen reportedly helped a migrant worker from Chongqing. Since then, government agencies have swung into action to help migrant workers. Local governments took the lead to negotiate with companies involved, task groups were established to monitor the matter, and channels were created to receive reports of such cases. Media coverage and public opinion added momentum to the movement.
The Ministry of Construction reported that by Chinese New Year, 68 per cent of total unpaid wages, amounting to 21.5 billion yuan (S$4.4 billion), had been recovered. The ministry also emphasised that policies will be implemented to help protect the rights of migrant workers.
A product of China's economic development, migrant workers have contributed significantly to economic progress, alleviated rural unemployment, and provided a cheap source of labour for the cities.
They are also bearing the brunt of China's momentous shift away from the planned economy. Where previously workers enjoyed the protection of a job unit or commune under the state umbrella, today's migrant workers are powerless and vulnerable in the cities they are helping to develop.
At 10 minutes to twelve that night at the professor's house, in the midst of our discussion on changes in China, a cacophony of firecrackers went off outside the house, and kept going.
We went to the veranda, and what I beheld was the most impressive display of fireworks I have seen. They were not just simple rockets and sprinkles, but a dazzling display of performing lights that shot high into the sky and broke into umbrellas of colourful luminous glow.
We stood watching for over an hour, and I wondered aloud how much all these would add up to.
The professor looked at the blocks of apartments around us and told me that most of them are weekend homes for people working and staying in the city.
As in any fast developing economy, there are those who enjoy a good standard of living ahead of others. Many of those who own these apartments are early winners in the race.
These apartments are not cheap, but they can afford it, he said.
I recall that on my way to his apartment, I saw a long row of people along the roads standing behind full boxes of firecrackers, eager to sell them to anyone who would stop. From their dressing, you could tell they were from the rural areas nearby.
When we were young we were poor, and so was everyone around us, so we didn't feel it. Poverty might not be a problem, but disparity can be, said the professor thoughtfully.
The writer is a Singaporean playwright and director based in Beijing
This news article was extracted from the Straits Times, Tuesday Edition, 3 February 2004 - which will be archived by 6 Feb 2004.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/commentary/story/0,4386,233095-1075759140,00.html?
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