Urbanizing "pitfalls"

(cont'd)

Last summer the New York Times ran a series about China's urbanization project.  Highlighted is a Mr. Li who is in charge of relocating 2+ million people from rural mountains to low-lying cities.  He admits that there are "pitfalls."

True to communist ideology, he is very confident that The Party knows better than the people what is good for them.  "[M]odern-day Communist Party officials like Mr. Li speak knowingly of what is best for China’s 1.3 billion people, where they should live and how they should earn a living."

One of the pitfalls lies in the question of how these rural migrants are going to make a living in the cities.  No article I've seen yet has revealed a plan for long-term careers.  New apartments with more modern features abound, but they will have to be paid for.

The article's author visited and found people floundering with the transition:

"During a visit in February, townspeople sat in their front yards, huddled around open fires. Their homes were brand-new, with indoor heating and modern appliances, just as Mr. Li’s plan envisions, but it all runs on an unaffordable luxury: electricity. Hence the fires to keep warm."

Said one migrant, " . . we don’t heat or even use the washing machine.”