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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (94504)	9/12/2012 3:38:48 PM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217791

Chinese Famine. They are concerned of depending on foreigners for their food. They are right if we know a bit of China history. Historical Context of Famine China’s Vulnerabilities - “China has been living in the shadow of famine for centuries” (Ashton, 620). - 1876-79: drought in north China led to famine, which resulted in between 9.5 and 13 million deaths - geography makes north China more vulnerable: flooding from the Huai and Hai rivers as well as dikes of the Yellow River - human intervention, despite geographical vulnerabilities and natural disasters, can help: - rail transport and international relief efforts (the China International Famine Relief Committee) provided grain and reduced number of deaths to 500,000 (example from the 1876-79 China famine in northern regions) - quality of crops contributed because modern techniques were not employed - China has significantly improved agricultural practices for better reliability - famine was a result of both food shortage as well as government policies called the Great Leap Forward (Ashton, 624-630) - populations were forced to work in iron mines, cut trees for charcoal, build clay furnaces, and smelt metal - agricultural policy: commune system which created a reliance for non-agricultural services- agriculture subsequently was neglected and produced much less than previous private, individual entities, weak incentives for private farmers - little response to early food shortage indicators and indicators came slow because statisticians were criticized before for making too grand of assumptions that reflected poorly on the country - urbanization policy: in the 1950s, China experienced extensive migration to urban areas; population almost doubled to 100 million in 1957- thus, millions were sent back to the rural areas - international trade policy: no imported food until 1961 - natural disasters: drought, floods, typhoons, plant disease, or insect pest resulted in many areas without any crops; in 1960, around 60 million hectares were affected Knowledge of China’s famine (Ashton, 630-632) - little was known as it occurred and it was difficult to believe for two reasons: - Chinese government was commended for raising health and nutrition levels - globalization gained momentum in the 1950s - “The lack of democracy and of freedom of information have been pointed to as reasons behind why China experienced a major famine between 1958 and 1961 with excess mortality “gures ranging between 16.5 and 29.5 million” (Besley, 639). Media: - mainstream media noted agricultural production declines, but because of the lack of transparency, access to real numbers of effect on the population was unknown - Chinese government issued false reports; thus, the media did not reflect the situation accurately (Ashton, 631; Devereux, 27) -not until 1961 was the famine widely accepted and known in the international community NGOs: - little international intervention was due to the lack of information about northern China - International Red Cross Societies offered aid in early 1961, but China rejected assistance - China International Famine Relief Commission: a national organization that was responsible for aid; started by (Becker, 12) - American Red Cross: completed reports for earlier famines in north China before the Great Famine (Becker, 19) Sources: Ashton, Basil, Kenneth Hill, Alan Piazza, and Robin Zeitz. “Famine in China, 1958-61.” Population and Development Review 10.4 (1984): 613-45. Print. Becker, Jasper. Hungry Ghosts: Mao’s Secret Famine. New York: Free, 1996. Print. Besley, Timothy, and Robin Burgess. “Political Agency, Government Responsiveness and the Role of the Media.” European Economic Review 45 (2001): 629-40. Print. Devereux, Stephen. “Famine in the Twentieth Century.” Southern African Regional Poverty Network. Web..