Foreign workers (and wives) pour into China

[Doctor Cynic]

Source: Asia Times

HONG KONG - Thousands of illegal Vietnamese workers are flooding into China's Pearl River Delta region, the country's manufacturing hub. At the same time, an increasing number of hard-up Chinese men are looking to Vietnam in search of the ideal wife.

Both stories speak volumes about changes in China's economic and social landscape. Double-digit economic growth has returned to the nation as the world climbs out of a prolonged recession, and the social stability so fretted over by the Communist Party leadership remains largely intact. But, although its economic juggernaut continues to roll, China is not the same country that it was only a few years ago.

Illegal Vietnamese migrants are taking low-paying factory jobs that Chinese workers no longer want, and Chinese men - at least many of those who like to sound off on web blogs and in Internet chat rooms - are fed up with the soulless avarice of Chinese women and employing matchmakers to find them more "obedient" Vietnamese wives. Indeed, their predilection for brides from Vietnam has ignited a web war of words over the merits of Chinese women versus their Vietnamese counterparts.

For male netizens who have taken the plunge into a foreign marriage, the verdict is in: Vietnamese women are the best. Their testimonies abound.

Read more: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/LD30Ad01.html

[Sherman A1]

1. Thanks for Posting

An interesting piece on the combination of today's greed & past social engineering by the government is causing.

[Suji to Seoul]

2. My friends here in China joke about how easy it is to buy a Vietnamese wife

Men here believe women view men by their income, car and apartment. A long standing joke is "women marry apartments, not men."

[dotymed]

3. It's great

that the "global economy" has raised the standard of living in China. I wonder what the average pay there is? Probably, 50 cents an hour, that may be too high. Has anyone noticed that the "old money" top 20 nations have been able to keep their wages at a living wage scale (middle class amenable)? Of course our corporate owned, millionaire congress, hasn't even tried to do the same for Americans. These countries all have "evil socialized medicine" which miraculously allows them to have much better health, longevity and low infant mortality rates compared to ours and Africa's. We now have a thriving "medical tourism" business, thats what a "service economy" is for, eh? Americans can (if they can afford even that) travel abroad and get great medical care for a small fraction of what America's "health industry" charges. American corporations pay little or no taxes on their billion$ of profits. The wealthy have tax rates that should make them blush every time they see a "95%'er."
Europe, France, all of the "other" civilized nations have good paying jobs and benefits that most Americans cannot even fathom. Of course when global capitalism finishes with them, they might be economically closer to American standards. Their honestly progressive tax rates, will save many of the workers unless their elite learn how to game the system from their American cousins.
In America, in 1970, the top tax rate for the wealthiest individuals and corporations was 91%. The wealthy stayed that way. The middle class thrived and poverty was actually confronted by social programs. Was America in 1970, a "Socialist" country? I have never heard that accusation. Of course we had laws against monopolies enforced. The Congress was not allowed to be bought (as openly), and Americans would protest unfair policies that threatened their jobs and their economy.
In 2009, the highest tax rate was 35%. Corporations paid little or (mostly) no taxes. Wages have actually decreased for the working class over the last 30 years. Unions are basically non-existent and about 40% of our income is taken by the for-profit "health care industry" even though our health care ranks below that of most third world nations.
We are watching the dying throes of an empire. We spend more on "defense" ;-) than the top 15 countries COMBINED. We have double digit unemployment and most (by far) of the available jobs pay less (adjusted) than they did thirty years ago. Our CEO's in the 1970's "earned" about 30-40 times of what the average worker earned. Today CEO's are paid about 4000 times what the average worker earns. With a top tax rate of 35% !
It is not hard to see why we are in such a mess. We could return to the policies of the 1970's and how could anyone call that "Socialism?" We can look abroad at what works for Universal health care and maintaining a profitable manufacturing base. Profits in those countries, are not allowed to go directly in the pockets of the wealthy. This gives them an incentive to pay good wages and benefits to their workers.
AMERICA HAS THE WORST DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH IN THE WORLD.....THE ENTIRE WORLD. Of course. Americans will no longer protest these inequities. It makes it really easy to rape someone when they cannot or will not fight back.

[dmallind]

6. Typical factory worker pay is 1000 RMB/mo to start NT

[dmallind]

7. Oh and we have about the 43rd worst distribution of wealth in the world by GINI index. NT

[pampango]

8. Not the worst in the world, but the worst, by far, among developed countries.

Our GINI is 45 while the Europe, Canada and Australia are in the 26-32 range. We have an unequal wealth distribution that is on a par with China (46.9) and Mexico (46.1). The only countries that are much worse than us are Third World countries: Haiti (59.2), Namibia (70.7), Paraguay (58.4), and Zimbabwe (56.8). Even Turkey (43.6), India (36.8), and South Korea (31.3) are better than the US in terms of income distribution.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality

As for figuring Chinese wages, our per capita GDP is $46,381, while China's is $6,567 (or about 14.2% of ours). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_per_capita) The Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.t02.htm) shows US "average hourly earnings" as $18.90. Since the GINI coefficients (level of income inequality) of China and the US are almost identical, you would figure they would have similar numbers above and below the average. Using the US figure of $18.90 as a basis, the Chinese "average hourly earnings" would be $2.68, though there would be many below (and above) that figure, as would be true of the US' as well.

I would say that the average pay in China is more than 50 cents an hour (perhaps around $2.68), but still far behind ours.

[Blue_Tires]

4. how alike are the Chinese and Vietnamese languages?

for the men to just drop in and scoop up the woman of their choice?

and am I the only one surprised at the concept of China needing to INSOURCE laborers?

[marshall]

5. China having to insource wives shouldn't be a surprise either

It will no doubt become a booming enterprise--foreign match making.

[cap]

9. the Pearl River Delta is where a lot of exports to the USA are manufactured

we are part of this food chain.