Wandering China

The great thing about Hong Kong is, despite being under Chinese rule again, it has bandwidth to maintain its press freedoms. This is worth a read if you are interested in an investigation into life in China’s factory floors, and not the fleeting press reports that only cover the marco details. It raises questions on the interconnectedness of the global production networks, and a strong look at the Chinese psyche – have they softened? After all, their parents would have survived far worse – the Civil War, the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward combined.

“…The shift was 12 hours long nearly every day. Once you started, you hardly dared to think about the drudgery, but after you got into it, you found that you simply did not have time to let your mind wander. You were a machine. You just worked, and your brain did not need to be engaged at all, you just needed to carry out the same action repeatedly. That was all that was required.”

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Chinese university students investigate life on the factory floor
Source – China Labour Bulletin, published July 21, 2010

Chinese university students investigate life on the factory floor
During this year’s summer break, three students went “undercover” as migrant workers at a small shoe factory in Dongguan’s Houjie township. Their report, widely circulated in various forms on the Internet in China, details the pay and conditions of employees, the attitude of migrant workers towards employer abuses and their awareness of the law. It shows how the students tried to “raise the consciousness” of the young migrant workers at the factory and their frustration at their lack of success. The report also looks at the conditions at larger factories in the Pearl River Delta that pay more but also demand more from workers, and discusses the options available now to the younger generation of migrant workers, compared with their parents.

The essay reveals as much about the attitudes and values of young socially concerned urban intellectuals as it does about the subjects of their report, and as such provides insights into the 90s generation at either end of the social scale.

China Labour Bulletin has translated and edited Random Thoughts on Factory Life below. The original Chinese language report can be read here. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: 52 Unacceptable Practices, China Labour Bulletin, Chinese Model, Culture, Domestic Growth, Economics, Foxconn Suicides 2010, Honda Strike in Foshan 2010, Human Rights, Influence, International Relations, Media, Population, Social, The Chinese Identity, Trade