Factories shut, China workers are suffering

Ashley Tyner


On November 1st in Chang'on China, the Taiwanese chairman of an ailing shoe factory climbed over a factory wall to flee the country and his debts, leaving several American shoe companies with unfilled orders and 2,000 workers without jobs. "He just ran without telling anyone," Mr. Wang Denggui said.

For decades the Pearl River Delta area of Southern Guangdong Province served as a primary engine for China's astounding economic growth. The global finance crisis of recent months is a contributing factor to the shut down of tens of thousands small to mid-size factories, forcing laborers to find another job or return home on the country side.

This slow down inhibits China's ability to work with other nations in alleviating the world wide crisis.

Mr. Wang like many other migrant workers, were working to save up for school tuition for their children.