Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Viewpoint Given On CCIC

Clark County's Industrial Council was treated to hearing how the area stacked up from a different viewpoint.

Ying Jiao, professor of Chinese Culture at Ouachita Baptist University, and Mandy Dai, a freshman at OBU, gave their impressions of live in Clark County.

Ying said the economy in China was a big problem before 1978 as the country operated with a planned economy under government control.

This method was copied after the former Soviet Union.

This system had public ownership of businesses and the means of production. There was no private ownership or incentive for the workers.

This resulted in a low national income and much of the population living in poverty. Supplies were constantly in short supply and never met the demands.

People were issued cards and tickets for various items. They were allowed 1,500 kilograms of rice per month, and could only buy a half-pound of meat per month as well.

Snacks were only available on special occasions, such as the Spring Festival, and limited to half pound per person as well.

But, she said, in 1978 China began an economic reform and opened its doors to the outside world.

This resulted in the nation turning to a market economy with private ownership.

Ying said there were more goods and services available to the people, though the salaries remained low. The people no longer had to use cards and tickets to buy what they wanted.

She said in '78, her family lived on 78 yen (about $12) per month. This paid for an 11 square meter apartment, with the family having to share the kitchen and toilet with another family.

They also had a nine-inch black and white television.

Ten years later, in 1988, she was earning 200 yen, or $40 per month. The family was able to purchase an assortment of electrical appliances with the increase in income, and moved to a 46 square meter apartment.

By 1996, Ying's family, a husband and daughter, were bringing in a princely 5,000 yen per month or about $600.

They bought a 120 square meter apartment for 80,000 yen, reconstructed it and purchased new furniture for their home.

The people have changed a lot in the last 20 years, she said.

However, Ying wishes to save money to send her daughter abroad to a university.

The family has only the one child as it practices the national birth control.

Still, she said, people's lives have been changed by the reforms and being opened to the rest of the world.

Dai has been in the U.S. for two years, finishing high school in California and beginning her college career at OBU.

Before the reforms in China, she said, her mother worked in a community office and made about $20 a month, while her father taught school.

Now, her mother owns a dress shop while her father is in the export business, selling equipment to the U.S.

With the money they make, Dai said, she is able to stay in America and study.