Grassroots view from China
I discovered a blog called Migrant Worker, written by "a Princeton-in-Asia Fellow living and working in Kunming, Yunnan"Sunday's entry is titled, "A million toilets is a statistic" and is about
"China’s government recently announced a project to construct or remodel over 1,000,000 public bathrooms in rural areas, including my home province of Yunnan."
The blogger explains and offers a real-world cautionary warning at the end:
"For those of you who have never travelled in rural China, these “public toilets” they’re talking about aren’t some sketchy structure to be avoided on the edge of a public park. In many villages, the public toilet may be the only formal bathroom of any kind.
"The problem isn’t lack of a place to dispose of the poo (it all ends up getting mixed with straw and used as fertilizer aka “nightsoil”). The issue is simply whether or not streams or runoff get contaminated by the poo in the meantime. Bravo to the Chinese government for doing something about this. Here’s hoping that the funds actually become bathrooms, and not Hummers for local officials"
The blog is only two months old, but there are quite a few perceptive examples, including "Whose land is it anyway?" "Labor laws in my 'new home'" "Just a little taste of home..." and "Nomad solar makes the news" There are also links to other "Princeton-in-Asia Fellow" blogs.
It's not all appropriate for students, but there are examples here you can use in teaching about China. Besides that it's just interesting.
posted by Ken Wedding @ 3:29 PM
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