China: The Social Costs of Urbanisation

A thought-provoking and heart-breaking piece here from The Independent which reports on effective orphanisation of millions of children in China.

The process of rapid industrialisation and urbanisation in China has seen millions of working-age rural Chinese flock to the cities seeking work. The result is that millions of young Chinese are growing up without their parents. More than 61 million children – about one-fifth of the children in China – live in villages without their parents.

One can only wonder what the long-term social implications of China's "left-behind children" will be.