Chinese Whispers: Life in a changing China
Best of the Spectator
The Spectator
4.3 • 826 Ratings
🗓️ 27 May 2024
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
But you know all this. What’s less talked about is what that does to the people and families who live through these changes. What is it like to have such a different life to your parents before you, and your grandparents before then? How have people made the most of the boom, and what about those who’ve been left behind?
A fascinating new book, Private Revolutions, tells the personal stories of four millennial women who were born as these changes took place. Its author, Yuan Yang, is a former Financial Times journalist and now a Labour party candidate, standing in the next election. She joins this episode.
Further listening: Life on the margins: how China’s rural deprivation curbs its success, with Professor Scott Rozelle.
Produced by Cindy Yu and Joe Bedell-Brill.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before we begin this podcast, I'd like to tell you about a special deal. |
| 0:03.9 | Subscribe today to The Spectator for just £12 and receive a 12 week subscription in print and online, along with, here's the magic bit, a free £120, John Lewis or Waitrose Voucher. |
| 0:15.9 | Go to spectator.com.uk forward slash voucher. |
| 0:32.4 | Hello and welcome to Chinese Whispers with me, Cindy Yu. |
| 0:38.1 | Every episode, I'll be talking to journalists, experts and long-time China watchers about the latest in Chinese politics, society and more. There'll be a smattering of history to catch you up on the background |
| 0:43.0 | knowledge and some context as well. How did the Chinese see these issues? Since 1978, China has |
| 0:50.9 | changed beyond recognition, thanks to its economic boom. |
| 0:59.9 | 800 million people have been lifted out of poverty, as the GDP per capita has grown 80 times. |
| 1:04.8 | Some 60% of the country now live in cities and towns compared to just 18% before. |
| 1:06.4 | But you know all of this. |
| 1:11.2 | What's less talked about is what that does to the people and the families who live through these changes. |
| 1:16.1 | What does it like to have such a different life to your parents before you and your grandparents before them? |
| 1:20.5 | How have people made the most of the boom? And what about those who have been left behind? |
| 1:27.9 | As listeners will know, this is also something that I've lived through, having been born in the 90s in China and spent almost 10 years there before moving to the UK. A fascinating new book, Private Revolutions, tells other |
| 1:33.2 | personal stories from this time. It follows four millennial women who were born just as these |
| 1:37.7 | changes took place. Its author, Yuan Yang, was born in China too and lived there until the age |
| 1:43.2 | of four. |
| 1:48.5 | She became a Financial Times journalist later in life and is now a Labour Party candidate standing in the next election. |
| 1:50.8 | So Yuan, welcome to Chinese Whispers. |
| 1:53.2 | To start with, what made you want to write this book? |
| 1:56.0 | Well, thank you for having me on the podcast, Cindy. |
| 1:58.2 | It's always been a dream. |
... |
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