The Wrongologist and Ms. Oh So Right are off to China in the morning. The sole purpose of this trip is to visit Shenzhen, where Ms. Oh So Right is making a series of presentations to 3 hospitals and a medical education center. The Wrongologist will be attempting to mingle within the high-tech community, which appears to be quite sophisticated and entrepreneurial.
Shenzhen’s population is 10 million. About 6 million of
the people are migrant workers, many living in factory dormitories during the
week. Shenzhen is the largest migrant city in China, and it has a very large expatriate community. It also has the highest per-capita income of any city in China.
Photo of Shenzhen
Of note, we will be in China on June 4th, which is the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests. According to a new book by Louisa Lin of NPR, âThe Peopleâs Republic of Amnesia“, the current younger generation in China have little or no understanding of what happened when the protests came to a sudden end, since no discussion or acknowledgement of it is sanctioned.
But, China is a land undergoing great change. The Wrongologist is reading Evan Osnos’ book about today’s China: “Age of Ambition” which observes that in 1978, the average Chinese annual income was $200, while in 2014 it is $6000. What is really underway is the collision of individual aspiration and authoritarianism.
We hope to get a direct view of that, and report on it when we return.
