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Subway disgrace
This week an accident that occurred during the construction of Beijing's new subway line was widely publicised in the Chinese media. Thankfully, Reuters provided a brief summary of the accident and it was published in newspapers around the world, including The Age. Accidents such as this are a black mark against the 2008 Olympic Games and fly in the face of the many reports that praise China's Olympic preparation. This is already the third time that this blog has reported on accidents involving the construction of the Beijing subway. It is clear that a part of the 2008 Olympic Games' opening ceremony should be dedicated to the construction workers who have been killed during Olympic construction. Of course this won't happen, but it is good to see that the foreign media has finally reported on this matter.
One of my biggest concerns with the dangerous construction of the Beijing subway is that it is setting a bad precedent for the construction of other subway lines in China. It seems that the subway has already become part of the Chinese guidebook on how to build an up-and-coming city. Nanjing and Guangzhou have both built subway lines, while I believe that Xi'an and Chengdu are also planning to join the club. With its ancient history, the development of a subway line in Xi'an could destroy many historical artifacts that lie buried underground. But of even greater concern is that construction companies may continue to flout safety regulations and risk the lives of the poorly-paid construction workers. If even Beijing cannot ensure safe subway construction, imagine the dangerousness of construction in second and third-tier cities such as Xi'an and Chengdu. The accidents that have occurred over the last year are a disgrace for China, Beijing and the Olympics.
Previous China Machete posts about the construction of Beijing's subway:
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Posted: 5:31 PM, 31/3/2007 in BeijingShare on Facebook |
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| This is an accident, and as accident goes, it can happen at any time in any place. Please don't try to blow it completely out of proportion. |
Posted by Anonymous at 12:05 AM, 4/4/2007 |
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Disagree
| I\'d have to disagree with you there. It is already the third time that it has happened within a year, so accidents like this continue to happen. Of course it is impossible for me to know whether the proper safety measures are in place as this would take some investigative journalism. I am not working as a journalist and foreign correspondents in China do not usually carry out investigative journalism. However, I believe that an employer should ensure the basic safety of its employees. The failure to do so should be greatly criticised, especially when the work is connected with an event like the Olympics. |
Posted by zhangbohan at 10:23 AM, 4/4/2007 |
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Hello came across your blog just now...you seem to have written quite exhaustive articles on many aspects of china.......Am very much interested in asian politics....Wanted to ask someone some questions relating to china...anyway how would you describe the current political system in china..is it some sort of a hybrid system between capitalism and socialism or is it a very unique system......sorry if this question is not related to this article.........
Also regarding your previous article on macdonalds issue..this underpaying mainly occurs due to china becoming a hub of low cost manufacturing right as far as i know...but still companies like haier make quality products....do even large chinese companies like haier and leneovo for example underpay workers(skilled or unskilled) compared to western nations......
Also finally how is chinese product market penetration worldwide compared to german,japanese or US products?
Will depending on manufaturing as their primary means for economic growth cause any problems for them in future?...thank you |
Posted by mexes2345 at 10:52 AM, 4/4/2007 |
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Underpaying
| There is underpaying and there is underpaying. The underpaying you referred to by the likes of Lenovo and Haier are as you said due to the cheap labour cost in China. Strictly speaking we cannot call that underpaying. The level of pay simply reflects the demand and supply of the Chinese labour market. In the case of McDonald's, KFC and etc, they are paying their workers below the statutory minimum wage, and are therefore in breach of the Chinese law. It is clearly up to the relevant law enforcement organisations to police, investigate and punish those law breakers accordingly, be they foreign or Chinese. |
Posted by Anonymous at 12:45 AM, 5/4/2007 |
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I'd have to agree with ZBH
| ...that these "accidents" are disgraceful and symptomatic of an attitude that needs changing ie. if there's a buck to be saved, just do it. I deal with China everyday in my professional life and I tell you, the amount of trickery and ingeniousness are rather breathtaking. But, this is not an indictment on a whole race. It is just the way of doing business and if we want to engage with Chinese industry, we have to go in with eyes and ears wide open. These incidents will be sorted, but the critical question is: will it be sorted once and for all? Or will smaller cities in China be unscrutinised because they're farther away from the axis of power located in the major eastern seaboard cities? |
Posted by Ninja at 11:12 AM, 6/4/2007 |
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Answer to Mexes2345
Thanks for your series of questions. I definitely have very little understanding about economics, so answering your question about China's hybrid system of capitalism and socialism is very difficult. I think there are still remnants of China's former socialist system such as big state companies are still required to provide housing for their employees and pay their welfare. Besides that, however, I think China is about as far from socialism as you can get. Independent unions are not allowed to be formed, so a lot of people are working for really low wages, while all the profit goes to the business owners.
I am not sure whether Hai'er and Lenovo also underpay their employees, but they mustn't because otherwise they wouldn't be able to make high-quality products. As anonymous commented above, the wages of Hai'er and Lenovo would be lower than foreign countries because of China's low labour costs.
I am not sure about the market penetration of Chinese products. Obviously Chinese brands are not regard as highly as brands from the US, Germany and Japan.
God, that last question is a bit hard for me. I think you better check out the China Law Blog at http://www.chinalawblog.com/. |
Posted by zhangbohan at 11:29 AM, 6/4/2007 |
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