Original version

BBC World Service Online

The Documentary

Documentaries

Factual

The Documentary Podcast

Investigating global developments, issues and affairs.

The Monday Documentary: China - Shaking The World

The Documentary: China - Shaking The World: Episode 3

Episode 3

China - Shaking The World

BBC World Service - The Documentary, China - Shaking The World, Episode 3

How will China's government handle corruption and increasing protest?

Michael Robinson looks at the social tensions within China that threaten the growth upon which much of the rest of the world now relies.

Disputes over wages and working conditions in the factories of China's east coast have grabbed most of the headlines in recent years. But there are long-simmering problems as well.

How to crack down on corrupt officials? What to do for farmers unhappy about the compensation they receive - or not - for land taken for development? All of these disputes underline a widening gap between China's rich and poor.

In hhis programme Michael Robinson examines China's leaders attempts to manage these growing conflicts and calls for political change - not for multi-party democracy, as some in the West advocate, but for a shift from a system of absolute Communist Party rule to one where individual rights are protected under law.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Documentary

China - Shaking The World

Episode 3

Genres

Brand

Series

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service