Why there are no homeless people in China

Discussion in 'Asia' started by kazenatsu, Mar 16, 2022.

  1. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Searching for HOMELESS People in China 中国的流浪汉在哪?Unseen China - YouTube
    Searching for HOMELESS People in China 中国的流浪汉在哪?Unseen China


    SEARCHING FOR HOMELESS IN CHINA! - YouTube, JERRY GOODE

    Why is there virtually no homelessness in China?

    This is a very interesting question. I think there are four reasons homelessness is almost non-existent in China.

    First is that this prosperity is relatively new. China was still relatively poor even in the late 1980s. So there was an effect on the genetic pool. The less fit were filtered out. (Or viewing this very pessimistically, a huge segment of the population was killed off by starvation and poverty a few decades earlier in the country's history)

    The second thing is that in a country with a rapidly growing economy, increasing land prices have not kept up with the growth of economic opportunity, so it allows more overall opportunity for the population. This could be discussed in more detail, but capitalism creates much larger levels of opportunity when the economy is growing.

    We cannot ignore the effect of Chinese culture on this, the very strong ties between parents and children, or the drive to work, extreme thriftiness, discipline and self control. (Some of this is genetic)

    And lastly, there is some effort by local authorities to sweep any homelessness problems away. So it could be said homelessness is just not very tolerated in the city areas.
    There are plenty of affordable rural areas in China. The people may live in poverty there, but they will not be homeless.
    In fact there is almost a little bit of a problem of depopulation in some rural areas, since so many migrants have tried to relocate to cities for better jobs.
     
    Last edited: Mar 16, 2022
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  2. unkotare

    unkotare Well-Known Member

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    There are people literally living in caves in China. Outside the big cities on the East Coast, there is more crushing poverty than perhaps you can imagine.
     
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  3. DennisTate

    DennisTate Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I suppose that if somebody is a member of Falun Gong or a Christian they would have a huge incentive to live in a cave and get away from Chinese government bureaucrats.
     
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  4. Toggle Almendro

    Toggle Almendro Well-Known Member

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    China executes homeless people and harvests their organs for transplant.
     
  5. FreshAir

    FreshAir Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Soylent Green?
     
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  6. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I hate to bring this up, but probably one other major and significant reason the homelessness rate is much lower in China than in the U.S. is the Chinese government strictly cracks down on illegal drugs (and the penalties can be quite harsh). Probably around 30 to 60 percent of the homelessness in American cities is due to drug addiction issues (as the primary factor).

    In the majority of Chinese households, the parents are very involved in the life of their child, and would never permit their child to get involved in drug use or even associate with the wrong crowd of friends. This is a cultural element of their society (and likely in part genetic, I suspect). Keep in mind that this includes young adults, because children commonly still live in their parent's household years after they reach the age of 18. That is just an element of Chinese culture, and partly due to the traditional poverty in the country.

    Of course, it is fair to ask why drug use is such a problem in Mexico but not in China, despite both having cultures with strong traditional family ties. I think there might be a genetic component of Chinese being more responsible and following rules. Also fewer single parent households in big Chinese cities. In Mexico, one fourth of all households are headed by a single mother, with that percentage rising to 35% in Mexico City. For comparison, in China, as of 2016, the percentage of parents who are single and have children under 18 years old is 5.9%.
     
  7. Melb_muser

    Melb_muser Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Isn't there an oversupply of housing? LOL
     
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  8. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yes, that is another factor. In China there has been a housing bubble with too much construction of housing. Mostly that is condominiums in very high buildings, and luxury big middle class tract houses that most average Chinese cannot afford.

    I think though that is probably not actually contributing to any reduction in homelessness, but rather it's more like an issue of there just not being a housing shortage in China.

    Even if some people cannot afford the most desirable big destination Chinese cities (such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen), there are plenty of "second tier" big cities in China to choose from, that have less wealth and not as good job opportunities.

    It should also be pointed out that most of the empty condominium units are still not so easy to afford on a typical Chinese worker's income, and many of the buildings were constructed in areas with further away from city cores where there is less demand for housing, further away from the job opportunities. And many of the buildings also were halted in the middle of construction, without completion, and the units may not be fit for people to move into.
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2024
  9. Jolly Penguin

    Jolly Penguin Well-Known Member

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    There are plenty of homeless people in China. Don't fall for the propaganda. Chinese government only allows western "reporters" into areas that are prepared for presentation.
     
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  10. Mitty

    Mitty Well-Known Member

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    So which of the Chinese reporters have reported that there are plenty of homeless people in China, given that the current maximum temperatures in Beijing are about 2 degrees, and the maximum temperatures near Shanghai are about 8 degrees?
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2025
  11. Jolly Penguin

    Jolly Penguin Well-Known Member

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    Chinese reporters work for the CCP. They are not going to report any such thing. Xi declared that poverty no longer exists in China, and they report that, despite people starving across the country.

    It's not easy for a western person to see nowadays (especially if you don't look Chinese; was easier about a decade ago), but if you ever manage to get into China beyond the areas presented to foreigners, you will definitely see it. Its hard to miss.



    https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/04/business/china-censorship-poverty.html
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2025
  12. Mitty

    Mitty Well-Known Member

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    But what is the actual evidence that there are plenty of homeless and starving people in China?
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2025
  13. Jolly Penguin

    Jolly Penguin Well-Known Member

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    See above, I edited it to add some links. You can find plenty more with a simple internet search.

    Or, next you can try to tell us that North Korea is a utopia....
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2025
  14. Mitty

    Mitty Well-Known Member

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    IOW there is no actual confirmed evidence that there are plenty of homeless and starving people in China, and is just American propaganda.
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2025
  15. Jolly Penguin

    Jolly Penguin Well-Known Member

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    Believe what you want to believe, and what the CCP wants you to believe. I posted the above (which you didn't read or watch; you responded too fast to have) so others may see through said propaganda. For all my criticisms of the USA, at least they don't censor media to hide their homeless and pretend they don't exist.
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2025
  16. Mitty

    Mitty Well-Known Member

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    So what is the Guardio salesman and der Fuhrer Trump doing about the homeless and starving Americans?
     
  17. Jolly Penguin

    Jolly Penguin Well-Known Member

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    What does that have to do with China?

    You are pushing CCP propaganda because you are upset at Trump? Think about that for a second.

    I would agree that Trump is a disaster and I would also agree that the USA has an extreme homelessness and poverty problem. Up here in Canada we have some spinning out of control too (though not nearly as bad, as we have more social programs to help them).

    That is absolutely NOT an excuse to swallow CCP propaganda and pretend the poor and homeless in China do not exist. These people suffer enough without you aiding the CCP in pretending they don't even exist. The guys in the videos in the OP get paid for their work. You don't even get that, yet you're happy to dismiss the existence of suffering in China?
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2025
  18. Melb_muser

    Melb_muser Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I was in Shanghai a few months ago and it was 'spit-polished' clean. Of course there are homeless and they would be moved on.

    But we still don't know how widespread it is.
     
  19. Mitty

    Mitty Well-Known Member

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    But what are the actual statistics and what can Trump etc do about it anyway, except put tariffs on his daughter's imports from China? And when he points his tiny finger, there are always three tiny fingers pointing back at him.
     
  20. Jolly Penguin

    Jolly Penguin Well-Known Member

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    You were in Shanghai (tier 1 city), where you are expected to be. They clean up very much with that in mind.

    North Korea does a more extreme version of the same thing. Go on a tour there and you'll be amazed how clean and happy it all is.
     
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  21. Mitty

    Mitty Well-Known Member

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    And I didn't see how widespread it is when I was in Chengdu and Leshan and Chongqing in November either.
     
  22. Melb_muser

    Melb_muser Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Same with Rwanda. But I went on a bike tour outside the city (Kigali) and it was a different story. Not so much homelessness but you can see the poverty on the fringes.
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2025
  23. Melb_muser

    Melb_muser Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yep. Shanghai was whistle clean. Even had English signs. The Chinese have very effectively learnt how to manage poverty and its appearance.
     
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  24. Jolly Penguin

    Jolly Penguin Well-Known Member

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    Well... Trump COULD do what China does. Lower the poverty line so far that you can pretend "poverty" no longer exists, despite so many being unable to buy food to feed themselves, hide them away from the "Alpha Cities" where the rich and foreign visitors wander around in gated communities, etc. He could even paint (literally) the polluted areas green...

    Or... you could actually do something to help these poor people. You know, universal health care, jobs and training programs, food.....
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2025
  25. Melb_muser

    Melb_muser Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Hey come on man that's chlorophyll spray! Don't be fooled by western propaganda :lol:
     
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