Country Driving [224]
O’Brien, Kevin J., and Rongbin Han. “Path to Democracy? Assessing Village Elections in China.” Journal of Contemporary China 18, no. 60 (June 2009): pp. 359–378.
BOOK III: THE FACTORY
Part I
officials announced plans: Details about China’s highway project, and Zhang Chunxian’s comments about Condoleezza Rice, are from the government press conference I attended on January 13, 2005 (see previous reference).
the Jinliwen Expressway: Background on the new road came from He Jiongwei at the Lishui City Department of Communications.
the town had 380 factories: Details about Qiaotou’s button production came from Ye Zhengxiang, chairman of the Qiaotou Button Association. The Wuyi Printing Association gave figures for Wuyi’s playing card production. Other figures came from the Wenzhou Educational Toy Association, the Wenzhou Shoe and Leather Association, the Wenzhou Smoking Paraphernalia Association, the Shengzhou Neckties Industry Association, and the Datang Textile Socks Industry Company.
nearly 80 percent of all Wenzhou entrepreneurs: Details on the educational level of Wenzhou business people, and local economic statistics, are from:
Lu Haoting. “Millionaire School.” China Daily, China Business Weekly, January 23, 2005.
The Jews of the East:
Ye Jiandong. Dongfang Youtairen: 50 Wei Wenzhou Shangren de Chuangye Gushi [The Jews of the East: The Commercial Stories of Fifty Wenzhou Entrepreneurs]. Beijing: Renmin Ribao Chubanshe [ People’s Daily Press], 2002.
a survey of local male millionaires:
“Wenzhou Qiyejia 2.14 Qinggan Shenghuo Diaocha” [Valentine’s Day Survey of the Love Life of Wenzhou Entrepreneurs]. Caifu [Fortune Weekly, a supplement of the newspaper Wenzhou Dushibao] 138 (February 14, 2006): p. 17.
Yang Xiaohong: He was the director of Lishui’s Economy Trade Committee.
Long-term exposure to DMF causes liver damage:
Redlich, Carrie A., et al. “Liver Disease Associated with Occupational Exposure to the Solvent Dimethylformamide.” Annals of Internal Medicine 108, issue 5 (May 1988): pp. 680–86.
Also see the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment’s “Chronic Toxicity Summary: N, N-Dimethylformamide,” December 2000.
Part II
annual per capita GDP: This figure, and the statistics about Lishui infrastructure, are from Yang Xiaohong, director of Lishui’s Economy Trade Committee.
infrastructure investment: This figure, along with the statistic about real estate, is from the local Lishui newspaper:
Lan Yan. “Wo Shi Jingji Baochi Jiao Kuai Zengzhang” [Our City Maintains a Relatively Fast Rate of Growth]. Chuzhou Wanbao [Chuzhou Evening News], July 28, 2006, p. 5.
Square and Round: For background on this self-help book, see:
Chang, Leslie T. Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2008.
Francis Cabot Lowell: For background on Lowell, see the introduction to:
Eisler, Benita, editor. The Lowell Offering: Writings by New England Mill Women (1840–1845). New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998.
speeding ticket: Background on radar tickets in Zhejiang came from interviews with local police officers.
Part III
70 percent of Lishui’s total consumption of electricity: This figure is from director Yang Xiaohong.
number of Lishui households buying an automobile:
Zhang Qiao. “Mei Qian Hu Jumin Jiating Goumai Yong Qiche 20 Liang” [For Every Thousand Households, 20 New Cars Were Purchased]. Chuzhou Wanbao [Chuzhou Evening News], July 27, 2006.
87,000 “public-order disturbances”: “China Handles 87,000 Public Order Disturbance Cases.” People’s Daily, January 20, 2006.
Ancient Weir Art Village: For background on the Dagangtou artists’ commune, I referred to the local government proposal “Guyan Huaxiang Huibao Cailiao” [Report on the Ancient Weir Art Village], as well as:
Lan Weirong. “Lishui Huaxiang Chuangzuo Jidi Zai Quan Sheng Shao Jian” [The Lishui Artists’ Village Creates a Unique Base in the Province]. Chuzhou Wanbao [Chuzhou Evening News], November