I had seen the documentary on TV. I was shocked at the labor conditions, lack of government supervision and the descrepency between the worker pay and the profit. The workers are basically in endentured servatude. I was amazed they let the footage out of the country.

A very interesting meeting on Monday. I was taken aback by Professor Chen's photo of the public swimming facility. How do people deal day-to-day with such high population density?!
As always, I enjoy hearing the life experiences of our presenters. Can't imagine sharing kitchen and restroom facilities with so many other families!
I have seen video clips similar to the information presented in Blue China. It is very hard to imagine the lives of these young men and women. But as Clay mentioned, it may offer more than they would have in their rural living situations. I will look differently (and appreciatively) now on goods purchased that I know are produced in China.
Although not the focus of the presentation, since it was mentioned, more information on gender and population issues as well as on environmental issues would have been very interesting.
The information presented on trade was thought-provoking, especially the point Professor Chen kept mentioning about what do we produce that China could use -- airplanes, computer programs, etc. -- things that don't get loaded on cargo ships...

Here is another photo taken outside Guang Zhou Train Station in early Feb.

I agree. I was horrified by the film China Blue and the factory conditions. I would love to be able to tell how to avoid buying goods that have been produced under such conditions. I was so startled to learn that not only do they make practically nothings, but this wage can be witheld from them for any reason. It stated that sometimes they are not even paid anything for several months. The level of contenentment though seemed surprisingly high..... maybe it is related to the last meeting where the profesor stated that the lowest rates of depression resulted from a discrepancy between the way one is raised and the way one is living now..... I guess if that's all the workers know it doesn't seem as bad; they simply accept it.

I know there is something that you cannot imagine; I saw many surprising faces when Professor Chen told us the sharing kitchen and restroom.

In my memory, we were still using the shared rooms in 1980, maybe it's still being used in some places. Actually, it's not that bad, you have the chance to chat while cooking and get to know your neighbor. At that time, people who stay in an apartment with a shared kitchen and restroom was one of the happiest thing ever happened to the family. No matter it has a shared kitchen or totally as yours, you're admired by people around you.

I think the housing conditions have changed dramatically during the past 30 years, and are still changing now. The change can be described like this:
house-----apartment ------house

People first moved into apartment because it's clean and well equipped, but now, more and more people begin to buy single house because they want a bigger space and more diversity, for example a yard.

Hi Mike,
I recorded my copy off the air.

I think the handout included info on China Blue. It can be purchased. Much of the film is also available in streaming video at: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chinablue/

Click on the "get the dvd" on the left side of the screen. This could be included in your library grant purchase. The link will direct you to:
http://teddybearfilms.com/chinablue

They aren't upfront about the cost of the films. Presumably they have different rates depending on the intended use. [Edit by="Clay Dube on May 13, 4:55:24 PM"][/Edit]