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Things May be No Longer Exist Soon in China
China is in a state of perpetual change. In the 20th century alone, the country experienced communism and capitalism, isolationism and foreign occupation, dictators and presidents, war and peace, depression and prosperity. Though the turmoil of the early 1900s has settled down, the Middle Kingdom is still on the move, evolving day by day. It's impossible to foresee exactly what will happen, but it's clear that certain things are susceptible to disappear within the next 10 years.
1) Made in China
It's everywhere, but that doesn't necessarily mean the infamous "Made in China" tag will be around forever. China is the world's manufacturing capital because it has an enormous labor force willing to work for cheap. This low production cost allows Chinese goods to be sold at a lower price and attracts foreign companies to outsource and manufacture in China because cheap labor increases company earnings. But as author Shaun Rein argues in his latest book "End of Cheap China," the country's cheap labor pool is evaporating quickly. Since the Chinese economy is growing and jobs are no longer as scarce as they were in the previous decades, the average Chinese worker is demanding higher pay; something that increases China's labor cost and diminishes its competitive advantage.
Last November, 1,000 workers went on strike at a Taiwanese-owned computer parts company over unpaid overtime wages in Shenzhen. The same month, 7,000 workers went on strike over wage disputes at a Hong Kong shoe factory in Dongguan. In fact, Christian Science Monitor recently predicted that by 2015 Chinese wages will be so high that it will be just as cheap for companies to manufacture goods for the American market in the USA. With the end of China's competitive advantage in labor, it seems likelier than not that there will be fewer goods "Made in China" in 2022 than at present.
2) Endangered species
There are several animals in China that may not be here in 10 years and no, the giant panda is not one of them. Since the giant panda serves as a national symbol, conservation facilities like the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center have taken measures to repopulate the panda population; making it likely the pandas will still be here in the future.
Unfortunately, not all animals are so lucky. The golden snub-nosed monkey endemic to China's southwest has historically been poached for its beautiful fur. But with mass deforestation, this rare primate is also quickly losing its habitat. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), only 16,000 exist in the wild today.
The South China tiger is also losing its home due to rapid development and the destruction of nature. It hasn't been sighted in the wild for nearly three decades and less than 100 live in captivity. The brown eared pheasant is also in danger of becoming extinct, although unlike the Crescent Ibis (another endangered Chinese bird), not many conservation efforts have been undertaken to preserve it and it's estimated that only 2,000 can still be found in China today.
3) Hutongs
A hutong is a traditional Chinese alley or neighborhood characterized by old buildings, classic architecture, courtyard houses (siheyuan) and narrow dusty streets. Hutongs can be found in many of China's ancient cities, but the most popular are in Beijing. Though some hutongs are hundreds of years old and have survived countless revolutions and wars, the hutongs (especially of Beijing) are quickly vanishing due to construction and developmental projects. Wide highways, skyscrapers and modern facilities of the 21st century are rapidly replacing these antique districts.
According to some estimates, in 1944 there were more than 3,000 hutongs in the nation's capital. There are now less than 1,000, with that number decreasing annually. Recently, due to the outcries from local residents over the destruction of hutongs, several have been preserved as historic sites. So the good news is some hutongs have escaped the bulldozers. The bad news is that many have been transformed into tourist traps, lined with T-shirt and souvenir shops. Therefore, it definitely seems to reason that with the PRC's continued developmental scheme, the mysteriously enchanting hutongs of China's past are fading away.
4) Pollution
This may be a surprise especially since China is considered one of the most polluted countries in the world with 16 of the planet's 20 most polluted cities. But cleanup efforts and a green initiative have recently been implemented to help curb this environmental catastrophe. In 2011, Phew Environmental Group revealed that China invested 54.4 billion USD in clean technology; by far the most in the world (40% more than in the U.S.). In 2009, China agreed to the Copenhagen climate change agreement and vowed to reduce its carbon intensity rate (emission of carbon dioxide per unit of economic growth) by up to 45%, promising to reach 2005 levels by the year 2020.
Furthermore, with pollution related problems costing the economy more than 200 billion USD per year and pollution related illnesses like cancer becoming the number one killer, people are beginning to realize the importance of cleaning up the country.
While it's impossible to eliminate 100% of the pollution in large cities in China, it does seem that through progressive governmental policies, international environmental summits and public awareness, the days of China being the king of contamination could very well be at an end.
5) The Great Firewall
The Chinese government blocked Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and other sites they deemed a "threat to national security" in 2009 after widespread riots in Xinjiang and Tibet rocked the nation. Even more astonishingly is the fact that 2,600 websites are still indefinitely blocked in China today! But there are signs that the web's most popular sites will be available soon. This year on February 27, Chinese netizens reported that Facebook, Youtube and Twitter were temporarily accessible; causing many to believe the government was testing a new open door policy.
Mark Zuckerberg, founder of social networking giant Facebook, is currently learning Mandarin to lobby PRC officials and is relentless in his "surround and conquer" business strategy to enter China. Zuckerberg believes that if he spreads Facebook to China's neighbors first, it will eventually creep its way into Chinese society under the firewall. But perhaps the most determining factor is the demand of the people. If the average person inside China wants to surf a banned website, they'll use a proxy or find another loophole. It's similar to how the USSR tried censoring information to the masses, ultimately failing. So with cracks in the Great Firewall, prominent businessmen lobbying for support and the ever-growing demand of the people, it seems inevitable that this brand of censorship cannot possibly endure in the long run.
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