Yin Ee Kiong

    THERE is an ever widening wealth gap between the rich and the poor in China. A few have become superrich and many more have joined the ranks of the middle class but the bulk of the population is still poor.

    You only need to walk down any Shenzhen street to see the conspicuous consumption of those who have it while at the same time see people eking out a living selling fruits or cooked food in side lanes. One increasingly sees people peddling their wares to stationary cars at traffic lights. And lately, beggars have got into the act as well.

    I did not see this when I first arrived over a year ago but now I see more of it. Prosperity has passed by many and not because they are lazy — I have yet to meet a lazy person in China. It’s the uneven playing field.

    I am told that in today’s China much depends on who you know and how much money you have that gets things done. Those with money and guanxi, or connections, can get their children into the best schools and get their children into the top class even when their marks do not merit it. This means someone else who is more deserving has lost out. Teachers are told to close one eye to such practices and when it is the children of a “high official,” no one dares say anything.

    This unfair advantage of money and guanxi follows them after they graduate. Their parents “buy” them the right job.

    Guanxi opens doors and money buys guanxi. One scratches the other’s back. Is this how the new China operates? Tough on those who have neither guanxi nor money.

    In Shenzhen, there seems to be more new housing built for the rich and the middle class than for those on low incomes and the disadvantaged. The authorities boast of turning the Qianhai area into the Manhattan of China with a coast to rival Sydney’s. Such developments are good for business. But, if it is exclusively housing for the rich and those on lower incomes are ignored, it will become a rich man’s ghetto.

    Developments must contain a mix of housing catering for all sectors of society or there will be a visible divide between areas rich and poor.

    Naturally, poor areas will have lower-quality facilities and infrastructure. One should not expect this in a socialist country — class division is where money speaks loudest.

    There have been reports of how local authorities in China collaborated with businessmen to grab land from farmers for development. These poor farmers and homeowners are then victimized by the authorities when they complain.

    Complainants and petitioners are often beaten up. One increasingly hears of “black jails” and rights abuse.

    Social justice should be for everyone not just those with money and guanxi. We should be careful that money does not corrupt the body politic.

    (The author is a Malaysian published writer and editor, who has lived and worked in 10 countries.)