Book review: the human cost of China’s rush to urbanisation
Dragons in Diamond Village describes how the authorities collude with land developers and thugs to dispossess some of the country’s poorest and most vulnerable
by David Bandurski
Penguin Random House
China’s population is urbanising faster than any other nation in history, and that’s nearly always presented as a sign of progress and development. It’s not quite so simple, as David Bandurski shows in his well researched and solidly written book, Dragons in Diamond Village, examining the truth behind China’s massive, chaotic and historically important push to urbanise.
Guangzhou’s drive to become a “National Model City” ahead of the 2010 Asia Games sparked a massive redevelopment drive and battle over the land of the 138 urban villages in the rapidly growing city. But this book also tells a much broader story about China’s disregard for personal rights and freedoms, and the treacherous collaboration between developers, the government and ordinary thugs.
Bandurski, the editor of the China Media Project at the University of Hong Kong, spent nearly 10 years reporting and researching this story, and the solid journalism shines through on every page. He offers colourful anecdotes and portraits of a slice of Chinese urban life that few foreigners ever get to see, and that the Chinese media rarely investigate.
