{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-c03aa079.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-517835be.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='CHINA: PEASANTS CONTINUE TO LIVE IN POVERTY' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c18cd8eafeecae152f9d' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c18cd8eafeecae152f9d' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nCHINA: PEASANTS CONTINUE TO LIVE IN POVERTY\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eMandarin/NatFifty years after the communist revolution in China hundreds of millions of peasants continue to live in poverty.Eroding incomes are fuelling a mass migration from the countryside to the cities.Now, with China on the verge of...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eMandarin/Nat\u003cbr/\u003eFifty years after the communist revolution in China hundreds of millions of peasants continue to live in poverty.\u003cbr/\u003eEroding incomes are fuelling a mass migration from the countryside to the cities.\u003cbr/\u003eNow, with China on the verge of entering the new millennium, the very peasants who made the founding of the People's Republic of China possible, represent one of the greatest threats to the country's stability.\u003cbr/\u003eChina's Northwestern Shaanxi Province is a land of mountains, shepherds and poor farmers.\u003cbr/\u003eDespite tree planting campaigns, the earth is dusty, giving way to an encroaching desert.\u003cbr/\u003eTechnological improvement are unheard of across vast swathes of the country and peasants continue to toil and cultivate with their bare hands.\u003cbr/\u003eThis family of seven shares a small plot on which they grow peanuts and corn.\u003cbr/\u003ePeasants played an important role in China's revolution.\u003cbr/\u003eBut 50 years later, the gross majority of farmers still live in what is sometimes dire poverty.\u003cbr/\u003eIn 1998, the average per capita income in rural areas amounted to a mere 2,160 Yuan (260 U-S dollars).\u003cbr/\u003eThe reasons for this poverty are manifold: poor earth, too little land, too many people.\u003cbr/\u003eBut behind these natural causes also lurk corruption and illegal taxes brought on by reforms and a loosening of central government control.\u003cbr/\u003eMost peasants are too scared to pinpoint local leaders openly.\u003cbr/\u003eBut all agree that the taxes have become an unbearable and arbitrary burden.\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE: (Mandarin)\u003cbr/\u003e\\\"Despite all the school fees and other expenses, they still ask for what they call an agricultural tax. They lump all of these taxes together and it's quite a lot. And even though we don't have enough land, they still charge what they want.\\\"\u003cbr/\u003eSUPER CAPTION: vox pop, 61 year-old peasant\u003cbr/\u003eHeirs to a peasant revolution, China's communist leaders are aware of the threat to their rule which rural unrest could bring.\u003cbr/\u003eDuring his opening speech at the last National People's Congress (N-P-C) in Beijing, Zhu Rongji referred to the problem and asked that local leaders stop their illegal practices.\u003cbr/\u003eOfficials are studying an overhaul of the tax system to keep cash-starved local governments from fleecing farmers and have begun a nationwide retraining program for bureaucrats.\u003cbr/\u003eBut the heavy, unfair taxes still burden farmers and peasant protests continue to be reported.\u003cbr/\u003eTaxes are not the only burden brought on by reforms which farmers face.\u003cbr/\u003eIn many villages, the loss of the communes has meant the disappearance of the \\\"barefoot doctor\\\" -- roving medics who provided free rudimentary care.\u003cbr/\u003eHealth care is now reaching exorbitant prices.\u003cbr/\u003eIn villages where the importance of hygiene is poorly understood this has become a major problem.\u003cbr/\u003eDoctors frequently refuse to treat patients who cannot immediately settle their bill.\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE: (Mandarin)\u003cbr/\u003e\\\"You have to pay money and secretly give gifts to the doctors. You have to bribe the doctors to get medicine to save your life. If you borrow money, you have to pay it back immediately. Labouring people, poor people, you can only get what you can get. If you can't get money, you feel anxious until you fall down and die.\\\"\u003cbr/\u003eSUPER CAPTION: vox pop, 60 year-old woman peasant\u003cbr/\u003eOrdinary farming activities like raising sheep and growing corn barely provide enough income to support a family.\u003cbr/\u003eTo make ends meet, peasants are increasingly leaving the countryside to join the hordes of migrant workers invading China's cities.\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE: (Mandarin)\u003cbr/\u003e\\\"If we didn't do migrant work, then we couldn't earn enough money. We have to do migrant work.\\\"\u003cbr/\u003eSUPER CAPTION: vox pop, 50 year-old peasant\u003cbr/\u003eLured by an opportunity for extra income, an estimated hundred (m) million peasants have left their land for China's bigger cities.\u003cbr/\u003eAccording to a recent survey, Beijing alone hosts roughly three (m) million migrant workers.\u003cbr/\u003eRecent clean ups and expulsions -- another preparation for China's 50th anniversary celebrations -- may have caused this number to drop temporarily.\u003cbr/\u003eBut the legions of rural migrants cannot be kept away for long. \u003cbr/\u003eLiving and working conditions for these workers are often substandard.\u003cbr/\u003eWhether they work in a garment sweatshop or on a road construction site, their goal is the same: to send as much money back as possible to the countryside.\u003cbr/\u003eMany city residents blame the migrant workers for a rise in crime and loss of job opportunities.\u003cbr/\u003eBut they are the manpower which has shouldered the construction boom that has transformed Beijing.\u003cbr/\u003eAlthough some peasants have taken to protesting their fate, most remain humble and philosophical about their problems.\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE: (Mandarin)\u003cbr/\u003e\\\"People who suffer just continue to suffer. People who hold pens (intellectuals) will always hold pens. Some people just depend on their mouths to live (high officials), but people who suffer just continue to suffer.\\\"\u003cbr/\u003eSUPER CAPTION: vox pop, 50 year-old peasant\u003cbr/\u003e50 years after China's peasants effectively pushed the Communist Party into power, they are the majority of the population which continues to suffer the most.\u003cbr/\u003e Yan'an, Woyunshan, Leijiakou and Zhengjiachuan, Shaanxi Province and Beijing, China 15, 16 and 17 September 1999 and APTN File       XFA\u003cbr/\u003eSeptember 16, 1999 - Near Yan'an, Shaanxi Province, China\u003cbr/\u003e1. Wide shot of shepherds with herd of sheep against field and mountain background\u003cbr/\u003e2. mid shot of shepherds, pan to sheep\u003cbr/\u003eSeptember 16, 1999 - Woyunshan, Shaanxi Province, China\u003cbr/\u003e3. Wide shot of desert scenery\u003cbr/\u003e4. Wide shot sand dunes with trees which have been planted to stop desertification\u003cbr/\u003eSeptember 16, 1999 - Leijiakou, Shaanxi Province, China\u003cbr/\u003e5. Wide shot farmer cultivating peanuts\u003cbr/\u003e6. Close up on farmer sifting dirt out of peanuts by hand\u003cbr/\u003e7. Wide shot of farmer\u003cbr/\u003e8. Wide shot of old lady collecting dried cornstalks\u003cbr/\u003e9. Mid shot of old woman picking up stack of dried cornstalks\u003cbr/\u003e10. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) vox pop, 61 year-old peasant\u003cbr/\u003eAPTN File - March 5, 1999 - Beijing, China\u003cbr/\u003e11. Wide exterior shot of Great Hall of the People\u003cbr/\u003e12. Close up on Chinese flag waving at great hall of the People\u003cbr/\u003e13. Close up on Chinese emblem, zoom out to opening session of National People's Congress (N-P-C)\u003cbr/\u003eAPTN File- March 15, 1999 - Beijing China\u003cbr/\u003e14. Mid shot of Zhu Rongji at N-P-C press conference\u003cbr/\u003eSeptember 17, 1999 - Zhengjiachuan, Shaanxi Province, China\u003cbr/\u003e15. Wide shot of country road\u003cbr/\u003e16. Wide shot of small road leading to Zhengjiachuan Village\u003cbr/\u003e17. Wide shot of interior courtyard of village home\u003cbr/\u003e18. Mid shot of typical village kitchen\u003cbr/\u003e19. mid shot of cooking area\u003cbr/\u003e20. Close up on boiling porridge\u003cbr/\u003e21. Wide shot of two children playing with tube\u003cbr/\u003e22. Pan of village house on a hill\u003cbr/\u003e23. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) vox pop, 60 year-old woman peasant\u003cbr/\u003e24. Mid shot of sheep in kennel\u003cbr/\u003e25. Close up on little lamb sleeping\u003cbr/\u003e26. Wide shot of peasant woman sorting corn\u003cbr/\u003e27. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) vox pop, 50 year-old peasant\u003cbr/\u003eAPTN File - March 1998 - Beijing, China\u003cbr/\u003e28. Mid shot of  migrant worker with big bundle on shoulder at Beijing Railway Station\u003cbr/\u003e29. Wide shot of group of migrant workers at train station\u003cbr/\u003eAPTN File - November 11, 1998 - Beijing China\u003cbr/\u003e30. Pan of migrant workers in garment sweatshop\u003cbr/\u003e31. Mid shot of migrant worker at sewing machine in sweatshop\u003cbr/\u003eAPTN File - October 31, 1998 - Beijing China\u003cbr/\u003e32. Wide shot of migrant workers on Fourth Ring Road construction site\u003cbr/\u003e33. Mid shot of migrant workers working on underpass of Fourth Ring Road\u003cbr/\u003e34. Mid shot of shadows of migrant workers on construction site\u003cbr/\u003e35. Wide shot migrant workers on road construction site\u003cbr/\u003eSeptember 17, 1999 - Zhengjiachuan, Shaanxi Province, China\u003cbr/\u003e36. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) vox pop, 50 year-old peasant\u003cbr/\u003eSeptember 15, 1999 - Yan'an, Shaanxi Province, China\u003cbr/\u003e37. 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