China - a superpower - but at what cost?

Labour: More than 482 million people live on less than $2 a day Children are being kidnapped and forced into labour including prostitution China's industry orientated economy relies on migrant workers. They make up the majority of the workforce - they don't receive state benefits or protection, they endure poor working and living conditions including forced overtime, no employment contracts In 2009 approximately 1 million people were injured at work and 20,000 suffered from diseases as a result of their occupation Factories use toxic chemicals and lack adequate safety protocols Workers are on 12 hour shifts at Apple factories. In 2010, 14 people killed themselves at Foxconn China's communist party enforces strict control of formation labour unions so workers are subjected to extreme exploitation by capitalists

Environment: According to the Environmental Protection Agency's air quality scale, any pollution rating above 300 means the air is unsafe to breathe. In 2016 there were 19 days where the rating was above 300 even reaching 866 at one point China burns 47% of the worlds coal More than half of China's surface water is so polluted it cannot be treated to make it drinkable and a quarter is so dangerous it can't even be used for industrial purposes 60% of groundwater is described as severely polluted 1 million square miles of China is facing desertification There are entire towns that are written off as so polluted that just living there is a cancer risk

Human Rights: Every year china has nearly 10,000 cases of the death penalty that result in immediate execution There are more executions in china than the rest of the world Torture and ill treatment is widespread Religion is carefully controlled Government restricts religious practice to 5 officially recognised religions Government restricts freedom of expression through censorship and punishments Government blocks hundreds of websites