Dodson - Chapters 3 & 4

According to Bill Dodson in Chapter three of China Inside Out, when economic success hit the countryside and migrant workers became more aware of labor rights, workers began to move to the cities. The hukou, or residence, system in China is very strict and involved. Permits are required and it gets complicated when people try to move. Apparently the government put this system in place in order to stop the movement of the Chinese population. Therefore, each citizen was essentially forced to keep a certain role based on where they lived (i.e. Farmers, factory workers, etc.). I have never imagined that anything like this existed. I don’t know if it is because I am naïve, but I can’t imagine an entire government agreeing to something like this; taking advantage of an entire population and forcing them into certain lives is absolutely oppressive and manipulative. In all honesty it infuriates me. It is possible my understanding of the situation is limited or maybe incorrect, but from what it sounds like the government made it nearly impossible for Chinese citizens to move. So in essence these citizens, and especially “peasants”, were stuck working under terrible conditions for little money. And the government arranged this. 

Dodson explains that China’s “EPA concluded outdoor pollution in China was responsible for between 350,000 and 400,000 deaths”, indoor pollution “resulted in another 300,000 deaths”, and “water pollution added another 60,000” (pg. 73). I don’t have any statistics from other countries to compare this to, but the amount is nonetheless staggering. It is very easy to become desensitized to hearing about large mortality rates. It is always on the news, in the newspaper, on the radio, etc. These large statistics are everywhere, and sooner or later they simply become numbers. However, this really disturbed me. After reading about the young women working in toxic fumes every single day, the numbers seemed more like individual lives. The specific examples that Dodson gives that relate the subject of each chapter break down this wall of disconnect that I have felt with China; it seems real. These numbers frightened me as well, especially water pollution. I have taken for granted how rarely I have had to worry about the quality of the water that runs out of my faucet.  I have been extremely unaware of the degree of China’s current issues. Dodson explains that China’s “industrial filth is slopping over into other countries’ backyards” (pg. 80). This is very understandable, but China is definitely not the only country with this issue. In fact, almost every country has contributed to global pollution in some way. However, it is still a very frightening prospect.