The French paper Liberation just released a 5-minute feature video on Sichuan migrants working in the trash dumps of the north, shot by correspondent Philippe Grangereau, who has put himself “in the proletarian milieu of the north Beijing suburbs.”
Grangereau’s long accompanying article, “China: The Servitude of the Proletariat” is an in-depth look at the lives of migrant workers in the construction industry. The issue of the mingong is deeply tied to the question of hukou (residence permit) reform, one of the touchiest of subjects for Chinese leaders who elected to leave the system basically unreformed at the two recent congresses in Beijing.
Adam Cathcart 