Feature Story

Xie Lihua

Xie Lihua

Translated by Chen Shanshan

Xie Lihua, editor-in-chief of Rural Woman magazine and founder of Beijing Cultural Development Centre for Rural Women, is uniquely positioned to comment on China's burgeoning leadership. Here, she discusses China's challenges and what hosting the Olympic games could mean for her country.

On hosting the Olympic Games...

Hosting the Olympic Games has been China's dream for many years. For so long we have been stigmatized as "the sick man of Asia" and it is time that we demonstrate our strength to the world.

Certainly, China will face many difficulties hosting the largest Olympic Games, especially following the devastating May 12 earthquake. It is my hope that the international community approaches us with a friendly attitude. The Chinese nation has dignity, and we deserve respect—we hope to become an indispensable member of the international community, regardless of our state system. A western system is not the only choice and we must respect variability and understand that each country has its own history and culture. We must respect different approaches to development.

It is important that the international community understand that China has a history of more than 5,000 years. Chinese women entered the 21st century with three-inch bound feet—we lag far behind other nations in terms of women's development. The number of women who have received education above senior high school is less than 20 percent. This is the heart of the issue. We must start with education to allow women access to opportunities, and we must learn from the international community and develop non-governmental organizations to give women the opportunity to participate in reform. Women's emancipation is the responsibility of government and women's federations, but it is also the responsibility of those women who have received education. Educated women must organize—only then can we have the strength to achieve what we want to achieve.

On inspiration and gender...

I have found that personal stories concern everyone. The individual problems women encounter are direct manifestations of the overall status of women, and it is important to tell the individual stories to illuminate the bigger picture.

Xie Lihua

"We can change ourselves, even if we can't change others." Sisters-in-law Wang Xiumei, Sun Caihong, Wang Xiaolai, and Sun Shuli discuss their journey to opening a successful clothing business at a crisis-intervention conference.

The stories of rural sisters changing their fates—there are so many—are the most powerful drivers for me. At a recent seminar on crisis intervention, I met four sisters-in-law, Wang Xiumei, Sun Caihong, Wang Xiaolai, and Sun Shuli, from Sanshiliuguanzi Village in Qinglong, Hebei Province.

Because of conflicts over family affairs, three of these women had attempted to end their lives. During the seminar they spoke of how participating in a women's health support group that we set up in their village changed their lives dramatically. In the group they learned that "we can change ourselves, even though we can't change others," which inspired them to jointly set up a farm where they raised 5,000 chickens. While they lost more than RMB 50,000 due to an epidemic, they weren't deterred by the failure and instead set up a new initiative, a hand-weaving workshop. Their optimistic spirit and perseverance touched me greatly.

On urbanization...

Urbanization is sweeping developing countries and China is no exception. The Chinese people have learned of the modern lifestyle of Western, developed countries, and consumerism has become in vogue, both for young citizens and the government at large. Because of this, growing the GDP became one of the primary goals of the government.

But after 30 years of this trend, problems are emerging: The environment is worsening; energy resources are depleting; the gap between the cities and the countryside, between the rich and the poor continues to widen; privilege and corruption is growing; and social issues, like insufficient support of public education, health care, and social insurance, are directly affecting the progress of urbanization and modernization. The Chinese government has recognized this and is now focusing on the construction of a harmonious society. There is an emphasis on harmony between human beings and nature, between cities and the countryside, as well as an emphasis on people-centered sustainable development. The GDP is no longer the government's only focus. I believe this change is an important one that other developing countries can learn from.

On the way forward...

The convening of the UN's World Conference on Women in 1995 is a successful example of the international community constructively engaging with China around human rights issues. Before the conference, many of China's people did not know about domestic violence and NGOs, nor did they understand the concept that women's rights are human rights. Although China was among the first group of countries to ratify the Convention on Eliminating All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the broad masses of women don't know its contents. The World Conference on Women introduced the highly effective international women's movement to the people of China, which was directly responsible for the creation of women's organizations like ours.

But it is far from enough—China is a typical patriarchal society, and to promote gender equality, we must learn from the international community and involve men in the movement, especially male leaders. It is critical for men to have awareness of gender equality if we are to succeed.

Lichun Tian

Lichun Tian

Internationally recognized for her work, Dr. Lichun Tian is a leader in women's health issues in rural China. Read on to learn of her experiences working with the villagers in her homeland of Yunnan and to discover her hopes for China's future.

On China and home...

I am proud of being Chinese. In my visits to Western countries, I have sensed that the world is interested in China. They want to know this country and understand us. Unfortunately, there are misunderstandings due to limited communication methods.

I would like to be a bridge between China and the outside world. My home province, Yunnan, is a poor, remote, mountainous province in western China. I love the multiple ethnic cultures, and am impressed by the honest, warm-hearted rural people. They live in their fields for a life, and they are eager to know the world of their villages. They are sad when their family members die of disease and they hope their children—the young generation—can have a better life.

On health and healing...

In my viewpoint, what I do and provide is only a small thing, but to the villagers it is more. An amazing thing happens when you introduce a program to a village—people start to observe, and discuss the community health issues. They always do their best to help with improvements. What I do is not give fish to the local peoples, but tell them how to do the fishing.

I am proud of the villagers. Their trust and hope propel me forward.

In my work I have been in charge of various international cooperative programs in the field of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination, as well as programs in the field of access to reproductive health for migrants, gender rights, and sexual health.

In the past years, we have made great progress in improving women's health at the political, societal, communal, and individual levels. There is still a long way to go to improve women's health especially for the women of rural China. For instance, the suicide rate for women in rural China is reported to be the highest in the world. We must improve access to health care and address gender inequity to empower women in rural China. And we must improve health equity for poor migrant women.

On the future...

I always ask myself, "What I can do in the future?"

Health and environment is an important issue. In the developing process, almost every country in the world has had to address the issue of environmental health. Globalization makes this issue a global public health issue.

I would like to identify the priorities on health and environment in rural areas, beginning in Yunnan. Though it will be difficult, my heart tells me that we have plenty of experts and programs on environmental issues and health issues, but not many that blend the two. We must work to integrate these two sciences to develop a long-term, multi-disciplinary approach.

PulseWire.net

Song Qinghua

As founder of Shining Stone Community Action, Song Qinghua is pioneering new methods of participatory development in China's communities. What follows is her assessment of China's economic challenges, and her recommendation for a collaborative way forward.

On participatory development...

In 2002, I attended a conference on "city governance and community renewal." In reflecting on the history of participatory development, I realized that the present top-down approach to community development in China is not sustainable. I realized the utility of bottom-up participatory methods to address community problems and provide community services. Now, my work focuses on introducing participatory ideas and practices to China.

On China's challenges...

Today, China's cities face many challenges.

In the past people could rely on the work unit (danwei) for livelihood support. Following the end of the planned economy and the disintegration of work units, urban communities now have to take on many of the former work unit functions. At present, China's urban communities are woefully inadequate in addressing the huge societal demands.

With the disintegration of state-owned enterprises, urban unemployment has also increased considerably. Furthermore, there has been a major influx of rural migrants into Chinese cities. Although they help build up the municipal infrastructure they do not receive the same benefits like registered urban citizens, for example, education, health services, labor security. This creates tensions between old and new residents and raises questions about social cohesion and social justice. Despite China's impressive economic growth there is also a lack of progress towards social welfare provision. This is a particular problem because of China's ageing society.

On possibility...

China is currently at a crucial stage of development—social development is lagging behind economic development. Although the Chinese government has been issuing a number of new reform slogans such as "scientific development thought," "building of a harmonious society," and "listening to the needs of the people" many local governments still lack the capabilities to fulfill the promises of these slogans. In order to help local governments make good on their reformist rhetoric, all sectors of society will need to contribute their skills and time.

In order to address community needs we have chosen to establish a number of "Participatory Urban Community Governance" pilot sites. They aim at establishing social service projects that account for community needs, especially those of vulnerable groups such as rural migrants and their self-help groups.

We hope to strengthen the collaboration with the local government and thereby enhance both administrative reform and community self-government. The realization of these objectives will be a harmonizing factor in the process of urbanization. We also hope to be able to learn from experiences in other countries, so we can then localize good practices in Chinese urban communities.

PulseWire.net

Lu Hongyan, a.k.a "Redbird"

Also known as Redbird, Lu Hongyan is a pioneer in the field of sustainability and has been at the forefront of China's environmental movement since 1989. Below she addresses China's struggle with pollution and what it will take for China to become a leader in this field.

On a circular economy...

I became interested in the environment in high school, in 1986. The commute from my house in the suburbs to my high school downtown Urumqi, took me from a blue sky to a gray sky. At the time, I wouldn't say that China had a big problem with pollution, because I could still see the big blue sky from Hongyanchi, my suburb.

I can remember when I was a child, I enjoyed the beauty of nature so much. But we are losing this connection to nature. My ten year old nephew is not interested in nature at all—now the pollution problem is much worse.

Since 2002 there has been discussion in China of a 'circular economy.' Instead of getting raw materials from the earth, producing and consuming goods, and then putting wastes back into the earth—which is a linear process—we are trying to build a circular economy. It goes beyond mere 'green production', which can be done by a single company. A circular economy is a whole way of being, a synergy between companies and communities, local and regional stakeholders, businessmen, farmers, city-dwellers.

In my work, we are using large-scale biogas digesters to try to turn pollution into a business opportunity. We take organic residues, which is traditionally treated as waste, like pig and chicken manure, and kitchen waste from restaurants, and turn it into electricity and heat, plus soil conditioner and/or organic fertilizer. The Chinese are already familiar with this technology; there are maybe one or two million small digesters in rural areas. But these are household-based, with a capacity of maybe 6 cubic meters. We are working with 1,000 to 6,000 cubic meter plants, with the added value of creating jobs and regional based material flow and money flow.

On Olympic possibility...

In terms of the environment and the Olympics—I do think the media is exaggerating the risk for athletes breathing in Beijing air during the Olympic Games. But thanks to this criticism by the international media, the question of air pollution has become of concern to Chinese citizens. Their awareness has been awakened; now even taxi drivers and old ladies in the supermarket realize the problem. The environmental movement is getting serious. People realize now that if they breathe better air, they feel something different. And this is becoming the motivation to do something about it...

China can be an environmental leader by turning our own know-how to developing countries. If cost-effective solutions (to environmental issues) can be developed in China and demonstrated as a success, these can be transferred to other developing countries. Given that China is such a huge country, we must be a leader in working on global climate change. We are the world's workshop: we need a lot of resources and we pollute a lot. How we handle the relationship between economic development and the environment is really the challenge.

hrw.org

Minky Worden

As media director for Human Rights Watch China and editor of the new book China's Great Leap, Minky Worden has monitored China's human rights challenges from all sides. Here, Ms. Worden discusses China in the context of the international community and advises us on the best approach to dialogue.

On the Olympics...

No country has remained the same after the Olympics and China will not either. It is among the most important international events.

Human Rights Watch has been working in China for over 20 years and we have constantly monitored the [human rights] situation there. It is important to look at the arc of history of the country for the last 30 years. This year is not just Olympic year, it is also the 30th anniversary of Deng Xiaoping's "Reform and Opening" landmark policy that led to the economic opening and to the environment that has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in China.

It is useful when you are working on issues like human rights and press freedoms to take the long view to see just how much progress has been made from Mao to Now. It's also important to look at—even in the last decade—the opening that has happened in relation to civil society in China. For me, the nicest thing in China today is that there is a true human rights community working intensely on women's rights, children's rights, the environment, HIV/AIDS, press freedoms, internet freedom—I consider this an important milestone in China's modernization process.

The stories of people who do this work are inspiring — many who are operating in a gray area, where the government does not necessarily support the work. For instance, in the case of HIV/AIDS, hundreds of thousands were affected in the Henan province in a blood sales scandal. But there are people fighting for rights, in some cases, in face of opposition from the government. These people are making a difference and doing some important work. They are creating more space for people in China—a pioneering role really, something unthinkable even a decade ago.

On censorship...

The most promising areas for openings are media and the Internet. There are more than 200 million ordinary Chinese people on the Internet. They increasingly expect to find the information they want, to read what the want, and this expectation will create pressure from the ground up inside China for greater Internet freedom, which will also benefit the Chinese government. There are certainly people within the government who must recognize that many of the scandals that have hit China's reputation in recent years could have been better handled if there had been domestic journalists covering it before it reached the perimeters of the international media.

There are investigative journalists in China going out and tackling very tough issues like that of the toxic toys and environmental catastrophes, official corruption... The Chinese government has seen that it is in their best interest to deal with such things before the outside world becomes involved. It is certainly a part of the Chinese government's responsibility to protect their people from such things.

On engaging with China...

The Chinese government is not monolithic. There are people within the system, within the Communist Party and the government, who know that the reform of the legal system is essential; who know that expanding civil society and press freedoms are essential. The most important thing is to identify people within the government who have the reform perspective and to work with them and support people outside the government who are working on this reform area. It is important to work with people both inside and outside the government. Communicating in a clear and principled way what the expectations for China are and that the expectations are no different than for any other country is vital. The most dangerous thing that governments or countries can do is to set a lower standard for Chinese people, and that on some level is insulting, even. Clearly, the Chinese government can meet the global standards for human rights.

thechinaprice.org

Alexandra Harney

In her book, The China Price: The True Cost of Chinese Competitive Advantage, acclaimed journalist and China correspondent Alexandra Harney discusses the truth behind the low prices of China's goods. Here, she shares her vision on the great possibility of China and what you can do to support China's women.

On the great possibility of China...

China's great possibility is its people. I am inspired every day by my Chinese friends, particularly young female migrant workers who have extraordinary energy and optimism. These are women who are willing to sacrifice everything—their childhood, time with their families, their friends—to move hundreds of miles away from their parents for a job in a factory. They send much of what they earn back home to their parents in the countryside, so that their brothers and relatives can get a better education. These women are the muscle that powers China. They are its greatest hope.

Most women in China live in rural areas. And so they face the same challenges as women in all developing countries: the challenge of getting access to health care, of educating themselves and their children, of obtaining clean water and sufficient food. While I was researching my book, The China Price, I spent time in a rural village in Sichuan province with an illiterate woman who had lost her husband to silicosis, a lung disease he had contracted in a jewelry factory. She was doing everything she could to ensure that her children had a better life than she did. She had found a scholarship to send them to school. Before her husband died, she carried him on her back to the doctor's office as the whole town watched so that he could get treatment. These women are extraordinarily strong—emotionally, physically, and mentally.

In terms of labor, China has one national union, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, but historically, that organization has not been a good defender of workers' rights. Despite that, women are quietly standing up for their rights in Chinese factories today: they are walking away from employers who pay below the legal minimum wage. They are suing employers who violate the law. In these women is the power and the knowledge to make China a better place to work...

On how to help...

The most powerful thing we can do as consumers is ask questions. Our appetite for cheap products is keeping 16 year-old girls on the assembly line past midnight; it is filling the lungs of the Chinese men who make our jewelry with dust; it is polluting the air on the west coast of the United States. We are all responsible, in a small way, until we start pressing the companies that buy from China and other developing countries about how their business practices are contributing to these problems, and what they are doing to reverse that damage. Most companies tell us almost nothing. And they do that because we aren't asking them the most basic questions.

We must reach out—read books about China, get on a plane and come to China, and learn for ourselves. Get an interpreter, talk to ordinary Chinese people. More immediately, ask your favorite brands and retailers what they are doing to make the lives of the people in their supply chain in China better. Most of the people who make the goods we buy every day from China are women. The companies and retailers we patronize are our strongest link to Chinese women, and they have the power to improve their lives if they choose to change their business practices.

About Alexandra Harney

For the past decade, Alexandra Harney has been working in Asia as a journalist. She has covered China and Japan for The Financial Times, and from 2003 to 2006, she was the Financial Times's South China correspondent.

In March 2008, she published her first book, The China Price.

Visit Alexandra Harney's blog.