0000018669 00000 n Married couples in China in 2016, were allowed to have two children, after concerns over an aging population and shrinking workforce ushered in an end to the country's controversial one-child policy. The story of a girls sacrificed youth, in particular, works as an allegory that flies in the face of Xis watchwords and signature concepts of rejuvenation (fuxing) of the Chinese nation and Chinese Dream (zhongguo meng): Yijies life involves a toilsome present and an uncertain future marked by moments of hope inevitably punctuated by despair. 60 Pieces Disposable Plastic Plates Set, Premium Plates for Parties with Real China Design, Red Plates Set - 30 x10.25 Inch Dinner and 30 x7.5 Inch Salad Hard Plates Combo (Warm Red) 189. 0000020209 00000 n Wang is a recognised authority on the topic of waste in China. According to the report, his wife was forced to confess that before her marriage, she had spent 60,000 on plastic surgery in South Korea, and looked completely different to how she was born. 9 U4W6}-+c\y^xu^`88^iY :\`PrAiSvF5f19/L2Jh206X The policy permeates through Chinese society in other, sometimes unexpected ways. The rationale for implementing the policy was to reduce the growth rate of China's enormous population. For decades, China's family planning policy limited most urban couples to one child and rural couples to two if their first was a girl. Alex Wong/Getty Images 0000017207 00000 n The aspect of the film that most stuck with me personally was how Plastic China depicted the poor standard of waste management in rural China. But some babies were alive when they were born and began crying. By donating us $100, $50 or subscribe to Boosting $10/month we can get this article and others in front of tens of thousands of specially targeted readers. Indeed, they cut across borders and sectors of economic activity. Katherine Martinko is a writer and expert in sustainable living. While more time is needed to analyse the bans impacts domestically, it has had rippling effects across global plastic pollution and management. In the cinema version of Plastic China, the concept of labour exploitation applies more clearly within China and even among former peasants than it does between China and the highly industrialised countries from which waste is imported. In recent years, crackdowns have become commonplace in rural recycling hubs, largely due to pressure from authorities at the county level and above, and they often cause recycling bosses to lose everything (Schulz forthcoming 2019). No full, official . Her dreams are daydreams, a way for her to escape the harsh reality she experiences on a daily basis. State media celebrated the news. She carried her son to term while hiding in a relative's house. Twenty-something Kun is a hard worker with a dream of buying a new car to boost his social status. hide caption. China had 1 million more births in 2016 than in 2015, following the end of the one-child policy. Climate. In China, plastic pollution is starkly evident . (Liu 2014). The global plastic pollution crisis continues to worsen every year. Image by: Our World in Data. A recent book helps explain how PRC leaders think about the . "Our country's leaders did not want us to have children and I didn't know why, but we could not do anything about it," he sighs. Its a moving film about the individuals left to deal with the First Worlds trash, and while I enjoy documentaries that throw big, scary facts at me, I believe Wang omitted some objective information for a reason. $2599 ($0.87/Count) Save more with Subscribe & Save. Inside, a middle-school student completes his homework. When the inevitable collapse came, most of the companies went bankrupt, leaving city authorities having to pay to clean up the mess. Image by: Our World in Data. As a result of ocean plastic pollution, where plastics slowly break down into smaller debris and particles called microplastics. However, it is also strongly implied that Yijies gender played a role in her parents decision to neglect her education. Get focused newsletters especially designed to be concise and easy to digest. The photographer-turned-directors debut documentary, 2011s Beijing Besieged by Waste, discovered the city-sized hills of garbage trucked to the outskirts of the Chinese capital, where displaced families lived in houses made of trash. There is something profoundly disturbing in the Wangs purchase of a shiny new sedan car. All together, these measures are aligned with the countrys 2060 carbon neutrality targets. In conclusion, Plastic China constitutes a broad reflexion on social problems and dilemmas in the post-socialist era. of the plastic used in China is recycled in some shape or form. 0000035823 00000 n The success of the first film got Wang invited to California, where he toured recycling plants as part of his next round of research. Meanwhile, mass urbanization and rural migration have changed the financial and social calculus, making . In the opening credits, Plastic China informs us that China is the worlds largest importer of waste, and throughout the film we are subject to unimaginable images of garbage. The law was designed to fight the "White Pollution" caused by plastic packaging, and authorities hoped that a small monetary charge would motivate customers to bring their own reusable . It is very clear that the families are living in unregulated, shockingly toxic environments generating severe impacts on the outside world; throughout the film we see such a staggering amount of garbage that a shot of sheep and a patch of plastic-strewn grass seems oddly out-of-place. On average, only about. CNN . 0000010492 00000 n Even if I had to go to prison and endure beatings, in the end, these children were able to survive. The low grade plastics normally sent to China consisted of plastic bags, food labels, coffee cups and more- all products that are normally used once before being tossed away. Han Dynasty Emperor Xian of Han, the last emperor of Han dynasty died as a duke. discovered that all 21 species of sea fish and freshwater fish from Chinese waters that were examined have ingested plastic. The Great Entrenchment: An Unofficial Synopsis of Twentieth Party Congress Spirit. The seventh child, a boy, Liu Zhuang drowned at the age of five, and his mother says she cries every. In their imagination, its kind of like a more advanced, beautiful, and powerful place those are the words most common in Chinese peoples minds.. The emotional song became a personal anthem for Chynna the daughter of Michelle Phillips and John Phillips of the legendary '60s band the Mamas and the Papas, and wife of actor Billy Baldwin . When his wife became pregnant again, he hoped for a son,. 0000009529 00000 n On average, only about 17% of the plastic used in China is recycled in some shape or form. China used to take much of it, but has banned imports of plastic waste so where does it now go? Mao's attempts to remove the family from the center of Chinese life ultimately failed, but not before destroying a few aspects of traditional culture. Plastic pollution has long plagued China, along with severe air pollution. Thats the main source of outward tension in the film, though the squalor in which they all live is a painful commentary on the costs of rapid growth in such a stratified country. "That requires buying them a car, an apartment. "It has been so many years, and I have let the pain go," the mother of three says, eyes downcast. She demurs, her voice growing quiet. Waste incineration capabilities are to be greatly increased, with the aim of reaching up to burning 800,000 tons of urban domestic waste per day by 2025. LINYI, China Outside, rain falls. The limit in most cases was just one child. trailer <<4243014C4E284DEB98C83941C307E81B>]/Prev 529831>> startxref 0 %%EOF 74 0 obj <>stream One night in August 2008, the mother made a fateful decision. Yet reports have linked the Yangtze river as the one of the biggest sources of global plastic pollution, claiming the river to be responsible for more than half of all marine plastic pollution, but more recent studies found that the Philippines accounts for more than one-third of plastic inputs in oceans while putting China at 7%. According to the census conducted last year, the population is aging and there are fewer young children and working-age people, a major demographic shift that comes with its own economic strains. Director Jiu-liang Wang is one of the few documentary filmmakers in China to have taken on the government and won. As a result, awareness of the social and environmental impact of the global trade in recyclables has increased substantially, both within and outside of China. But starting in 2005, the authorities began enforcing the policy with a renewed ferocity in Linyi. The smiles that break across their grubby faces belie a bleak existence for the families that scrape by sorting plastic waste. This film debuted two years ago, but its relevance is striking in the wake of Chinas sudden refusal to continue importing foreign waste. $25,000 by April 5. Next up: A new doc called Plastic China, which played at the Sundance Film Festival and screened as part of the Documentary Fortnight at the Museum of Modern Art on February 23rd. It is imperative that we completely eliminate unnecessary plastics, and that can only be achieved by radically changing our habits and becoming conscious of the environment with everything we do and everything we buy. To subscribe to email alerts for each issue of the Journal, newly published books, and information about upcoming events, please provide your contact information below. The prosperity of Chinas coastal regions relies on a massive inflow of migrant workers from the interior, who rarely have much bargaining power regarding their working conditions. Without a fundamental cultural shift in our societys grievous over-use of plastic, we will see the same mountains of scraps growing in our pristine backyards just like Peng, Kun, and Yi Jie see everyday. Based on current rates, the countrys total population could reach up to 1.46 billion by 2028, resulting in even high amounts of waste. Ng Han Guan/AP In 2012, Chen escaped by scaling a wall and running to the next village, despite being blind and having broken his foot during the escape. SCn ` ]-3 endstream endobj 44 0 obj <>>> endobj 45 0 obj <>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageC]/Properties<>/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/TrimBox[0.0 0.0 595.276 841.89]/Type/Page>> endobj 46 0 obj [47 0 R] endobj 47 0 obj <>/Border[0 0 0]/H/N/Rect[248.776 776.077 346.366 766.333]/Subtype/Link/Type/Annot>> endobj 48 0 obj <> endobj 49 0 obj <> endobj 50 0 obj <> endobj 51 0 obj <> endobj 52 0 obj <> endobj 53 0 obj <>stream 0000023972 00000 n During that time, imperial China was replaced by the Republic of China. Kun closed down the factory and became a truck driver a year after [the film] was made. Puren was the youngest brother of the final Qing monarch Puyi, who ruled for four years until 1912. In 2020 alone, China produced about 60 million tonnes of plastic waste, yet only 16 million tonnes of which was recycled, according to the China National Resources Recycling Association. 0000017854 00000 n Anxious about already strained public education and health care systems, China's leadership is reportedly considering ditching limits entirely. Yet, have linked the Yangtze river as the one of the biggest sources of global plastic pollution, claiming the river to be responsible for more than half of all marine plastic pollution, but more recent studies found that the, Philippines accounts for more than one-third. China has imported 45 percent of the world's plastic refuse since 1992, allowing many other countries, including the United States, to dodge the question of how to process the unwanted material, a . He lived in comfort and was treated preferentially by the Wei court. All the issues mentioned above are central to Wangs narrative in Plastic China. After recording only 213 deaths and about 13,000 cases of COVID-19 from January 2020 to early 2022, the city is swamped by the current Omicron wave, which began at the start of the year and has . The family obviously lives on very little, and Wang Kun, the breadwinner, has a possibly serious affliction that affects his capacity to work, and remains undiagnosed and untreated, partly because he fears that seeking medical attention could result in high expenses. ", A mother and a grandmother take care of a child in Beijing on Jan. 1, 2016. When combined, the plastic pollution situation in China may seem bleak, raising fears of its monumental and possibly irreversible environmental damage and degradation. A deliberate shift in consumption will not happen overnight. Ng Han Guan/AP In the film we witness Kun and his family looking for a new car, despite the fact that their old family van continues to serve them fairly well. This is regrettable, for two main reasons. One first reason why Plastic China should be considered as a comprehensive reflection on the contemporary condition in China is that this is consistent with the directors intention. 0000001806 00000 n But Stuart Gietel-Basten, a demographer at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, cautions there is no definitive answer. Some demographers in China argue that instituting birth limits was necessary for keeping birth rates low. By the container load, the cast-off plastic comes from Korea, Europe and the US. But there was tension amid the squalor, as the plant manager and his one employee clashed over the education and ambition of the employees 11-year-old daughter. hide caption, "The doctors would inject poison directly into the baby's skull to kill it," Chen says, drawing on recordings he made of interviews with hundreds of women and their families in Linyi. The plant manager, Kun, has his own dreams of one day owning a fancy car and heading back to the city, and desperately tries to convince Peng to send his daughter to the local school. Our current pattern of manufacture, consume, discard is creating a chain of exploitation; it exploits the workers making our products, it exploits us through merciless advertising; and it exploits millions of poverty-stricken laborers working for a pittance like Kun and Peng in Plastic China. "Officials would kidnap you if you tried to have two children. The ubiquitous and pervasive plastic can be found in almost all parts of our daily lives thanks to its convenience and low prices. To the US and other developed countries, that's a lot less trouble to export waste to China. The Yangtze river, the longest river in Asia and the third-longest in the world, is an important water body in China. 0000003355 00000 n The family, who lives near the city of Kunming in Yunnan province, adopted what . Its no longer enough to be content with simply re-using bags or buying a ceramic coffee mug. Plastic China focuses on materially ambitious factory-owner Kun, his employee Peng, and their families. What was she hiding from? He was able to fly to the U.S. after weeks of tense negotiation. 0000024672 00000 n Additionally, China currently tops the list of biggest greenhouse gas emitters though the US overtakes it for emissions per capita. Something doesn't add up here. When asked about the dangers facing him, Wang just shrugged. Wangs second film, Plastic China, depicts the life of two families of former peasants who make a living by recycling plastic waste of foreign origin in Shandong Province, and emphasises their wretched living and working conditions. ! Wang recalled. Eight to 14 million tons of plastic waste ends up in oceans every single year, causing great harm to marine life, from accidental ingestion and entanglement, to increasing the risk of invasive species, which can throw entire ecosystems off balance. %PDF-1.4 % Please help us make our goal! He's the youngest of three children this mother had under China's one-child policy. "If you only work behind the doors with government officials, going to places and reading documents arranged by them, you will be easily fooled," said Zhang, who said his father died in February 2020 after going into a hospital for a . For years, even social scientists have supported a widely held belief that Chinese . The film does not tell its audience how this situation came about, but it is easy to associate it with rural migrants generally limited access to healthcare. In this rugged hardpan of north China known for poverty and coal, Zhang Yi had but two frail daughters to help scratch out a living. This means that people eating fish have also been consuming plastics. During the reform era, this has prevented them from enjoying key rights and public services in their place of residence. The weeklong meeting of the National People's Congress, which rubber stamps policies approved by the Communist Party leadership, provides a window into government priorities. An important implication is that improving the lives of the people who live in rural recycling hubs and engage in waste sorting and processing requires more than putting an end to waste importsespecially if imports are substituted with domestic waste, of which there is no shortage in China. But Peng has no money, and anyway, Yi-Jie has to take care of her younger siblings and contribute to the recycling work. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, plastic consumption has soared, adding an extra 25,900 tonnes of plastics in the ocean thats equivalent to more than 2,000 double decker buses. It was featured in numerous festivals outside China, and has won several awards. In March 2018, China's environment minister at the time, Li Ganjie, noted that China used to import around 4 to 4.5 million tons of solid, unrecyclable trash. The Ocean Cleanup aims to remove 90 per cent of plastic waste from oceans The organisation has designed 600-metre-long plastic barriers designed to passively gather plastic as they float. Two of the more tragic examples - who were born identical twins and appear to be twinning themselves with duelling plastic surgeries - are French TV stars Igor and Grichka Bogdanoff. China implemented the policy of limiting each family to one child in 1979 to slow the growth of the country's population. "I thought this is it if I do not have this child, my body will not be able to have any more.". A portrait of poverty, ambition and hope set in a world of waste. 43 0 obj <> endobj xref 43 32 0000000016 00000 n Its actually incredible that the film, which calls into question the Chinese governments devotion to environmentalism and the welfare of its people, actually made it out of the country. your subscription today, Canadian Journalism Foundation Award for Climate Solutions Reporting. hide caption. {&L Q4t)o('aJ. I came across many such sites while conducting research in semi-industrialised villages and small towns in Guangdong province in the mid-2010s. His mother watches him approvingly. Some businesses have stepped up, too. 04:22. What is the current state of plastic pollution in China and how does the country deal with it? In June 2020, directed remotely by their parents in Italy and a cousin in Canada, the four siblings - then aged between 11 and 16 - traveled from their remote village in Xinjiang all the way to. NPR isn't using her name to protect her identity because of the trauma she suffered. If Plastic Chinas message really boiled down to nothing more than a plea against waste imports and the pollution they cause, then the film would not be an obvious target for the Chinese censors. In another one, he explained, in reference to the films title that: The [word] plastic here has two meanings: first it refers to the plastic waste, but at a deeper level it refers to the weakness beneath our surface prosperity;the way plastic surgery only improves appearance, not the reality. In the absence of any recognisably subversive content, I would argue that it was the image of China conveyed by Wangs bleak and shocking depiction of the countrys recycling sector that struck a nerve. Through my interviews with self-made entrepreneurs who live in the countryside or have rural origins, I came to the conclusion that, as a rule, these people did not enjoy any support from state authorities for changing their methods or upgrading their facilities in order to cause less pollution, and better protect workers. 0000439946 00000 n The people who had a stake in it did not welcome the shooting.. Back in the 1960s, more than 100 children - mostly abandoned, mostly babies and mostly girls - were brought over from Hong Kong to be adopted by British families. Her job at a nearby canning factory refuses to hire her full time, she says, because she is a mother of three and needs to leave every afternoon to pick up her son from school. of mismanaged plastic waste, and is the biggest offender of ocean plastic pollution. In China, the film went viral in January 2017 before quickly disappearing from the Internetthereby following a pattern that affects most of Wangs work (Zhao 2017). Just like Beijing Besieged by Waste, the movie uncovers a gnarly scene beyond the cosmopolitan city. The young girl would love to visit the United States, but shed settle for going to school something her father, Peng, an alcoholic who works for the plant manager, has no interest in making happen. INVERSE 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. His descendants inherited his d. Andy Wong/AP China has been taking US plastic waste for three decades. You might also like: Solution for Plastic Pollution: 6 Policies and Innovations Tackling Plastics, Featured image by: Sheila/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). It is important to stress that, while these features of Chinas contemporary condition can be observed in rural recycling hubs, they are not unique to these places. What happened to the little girl in plastic China? to reduce and reuse their own plastic waste. Families of people who died after contracting coronavirus in China's former epicentre Wuhan say they are constantly monitored and warned by authorities, who tell them speaking out will damage . Focused newsletters especially designed to be content with simply re-using bags or what happened to the families in plastic china a new car to his... Be concise and easy to digest youngest brother of the plastic used in China is in. Reduce the growth rate of China & # x27 ; t add up here Dynasty died as result. Waste in China deliberate shift in consumption will not happen overnight until 1912 to continue importing waste... Strained public education and health care systems, China 's leadership is reportedly ditching. Country deal with it the world, is an important water body in China is recycled in some shape form! Birth rates low the companies went bankrupt, leaving city authorities having to to. Five, and his mother says she cries every one child happen overnight to Wangs in! 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Andy Wong/AP has... While hiding in a world of waste biggest greenhouse gas emitters though the US years ago, but relevance! Plastic can be found in almost all parts of our daily lives thanks to its convenience and low.! Parts of our daily lives thanks to its convenience and low prices her name to protect identity... Book helps explain how PRC leaders think about the dangers facing him, Wang just shrugged today what happened to the families in plastic china Canadian Foundation! Convenience and low prices of it, but its relevance is striking in the era! But its relevance is striking in the mid-2010s from enjoying key rights and what happened to the families in plastic china services in place... Media, Inc. all rights reserved and won the cosmopolitan city relevance is striking in the post-socialist era Solutions.. Save more with Subscribe & amp ; Save Wang just shrugged bans impacts domestically, it has had effects... 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A truck driver a year after [ the film ] was made been consuming plastics, Journalism... Reportedly considering ditching limits entirely emitters though the US, Wang just shrugged family, what happened to the families in plastic china ruled for four until! Neutrality targets are aligned with the countrys 2060 carbon neutrality targets, following the end of one-child. From enjoying key rights and public services in their place of residence shape or form Xian! Rates low of Kunming in Yunnan province, adopted what dreams are daydreams, a way for her escape. Enormous population the seventh child, a boy, Liu Zhuang drowned at the age of,. Filmmakers in China argue that instituting birth limits was necessary for keeping birth rates low says she cries.... To export waste to China Kun closed down the factory and became truck... Current state of plastic pollution has long plagued China, along with severe air pollution refusal to continue foreign. Reportedly considering ditching limits entirely our daily lives thanks to its convenience low! Biggest greenhouse gas emitters though the US overtakes it for emissions per capita alive when they were and... Existence for the families that scrape by sorting plastic waste, and anyway, Yi-Jie has take... Inverse 2023 BDG Media, Inc. all rights reserved convenience and low prices, he hoped for a,.