Theme 1: Topic 7
Internal migration has impacts The largest internal migration in the world is taking place in China. In the last 30 years over 120 million people have moved to the cities – mostly Beijing and Shanghai – and another 80 million have moved to small towns seeking work. Until 1978, less than 20 per cent of its population lived in cities. Three decades of staggering economic growth mean that, since 2000, almost 1 million villages have been abandoned or destroyed due to urban sprawl. Many villages close to towns have been taken over by construction of urban housing, motorways or rail links. Others have been left derelict and overgrown as residents migrated to cities. Many people have left villages to work on huge construction projects in cities, including the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the Shanghai International Exposition in 2010. More and more subsistence farmers are being resettled by the government into identical housing estates close to the expanding towns and cities. Between 2010 and 2025, 300 million people are expected to move to urban areas. By 2034 the Chinese government aims to have 75% of its population living in cities. Newspaper extract
History’s greatest migration and the death of the Chinese village Five generations of the Qiao family have lived in the isolated, mountain-top village of Maijieping in Hunan province. They watched as civil war, revolution, hunger and finally massive economic change swept the nation. Now the family’s days there are over as thousands of Chinese villages are deserted as young people move away. ‘The young generation find life too hard here,’ sighs 58-year-old Qiao Jinchao, who is one of only four residents left in a village that was once home to 140. ‘The young people have left and feel no loyalty to the land. They are not coming back. Transport is bad and they don’t want to farm. It’s hard work and the money is not good. If you work in cities you can earn 2000 yuan (£202) a month. The living conditions are better there too.’ The damage began for Maijieping in the mid-1980s as China became the ‘factory of the world’. Some residents moved or married into villages that were less remote while others left to work in the nearby cities. The effects on the village are clear to see. The four residents are kept company by a few chickens, cows, dogs and cats. A local primary school has been converted into a barn. Mud-brick homes are now chicken barns, or cowsheds. There can be little social life or sense of community with just four residents. Qiao Jinchao and the other three residents have been asked to sign up for a new village being built near the city of Yanshi. ‘Enjoy the city life: build a new rural community,’ says one poster. ‘In another ten years we will have to move down the mountain too,’ he says. ‘We won’t be able to walk so we will have to go where our children are.’ Adapted from The Sunday Telegraph, 24 November 2013
TASK 1: Study Source a Suggest ways in which the two jobs are different in terms of: ■ skills required ■ working hours ■ amount of pay and taxes paid ■ job satisfaction. b Decide whether each job is formal or informal work. Explain your choice. c Suggest why each of these jobs is more likely to be carried out by migrant workers than the indigenous population. Explain your views. TASK 2: Study Source Describe two positive and two negative impacts of migration for: ■ the migrant ■ the origin of the migrant ■ the migrant’s destination. TASK 3: Study Source a Suggest why migrants in some countries are: ■ not wanted ■ not liked ■ not treated or paid well. b Suggest how governments can ensure that migrants are treated fairly once they are allowed into a country to work. TASK 4: Study Source a Identify: ■ three push factors that explain why people have left Maijieping ■ three pull factors that explain why people have left Maijieping. b Describe the impacts on the village, its environment and the remaining residents of the migration away from the village. c Which of the migrations mentioned is voluntary and which involuntary? Explain your decisions. TASK 5 Discuss with a partner your view on two policies of the Chinese government: ■ To have 75% of the population living in cities by 2034. ■ To introduce a law that makes people return home to visit their ageing parents at least twice a year.
25