Mar 19
China is quite famous for its progresses in economy as well as technology. She has assaulted malls all over the world with its “made in china”-labeled products. In the case of Indonesia, you can easily find “made in china” products ranging from cameras, laptops, and kids’ toys to the cheap (and later found containing malicious food additives) candies and snacks. In general, China is famous for its cheap, mass production and market presence all over the world.
However, China is China. Years roll and the globalization has forced the world to be more open. And China is quite accessible now. I say ‘quite’ because there are still some regions in China that are untouchable, that are inaccessible by outsiders. Among the regions is the Province of Anhui. And this book by Chen Guidi and Wu Chuntau (entitled Will the Boat Sink the Water?) tells about the life of Chinese peasants of this very province.
Check yourselves how the peasants, who serve their country by providing rice for the 1.2 billion people of China, live in never ending suffering. See there how local cadres of the communist party charge the farmers with various kinds of taxes (in this book, you’ll find a solid three pages list of taxes). You’ll also find how chief of a village “kills” a young idealist and brave teacher who demands an audit of village financial records and all. Interestingly, this book is narrated in a novel-like language. Well, you’ll get easily absorbed into the (true) stories in this book.
Tags: china, tax, chen guidi, wu chuntao
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