Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
a normal residential complex. I do not know the meaning of the so-called
eco-city.” But he knows that living in this eco-city means that they now
have to pay monthly electricity and gas fees, as well as go to a supermarket
to buy food and vegetables. In fact, most of the land from the three villages
of Chenjia town was confi scated for the development of the Dongtan eco-
city. Peasants were granted a township household status and guaranteed a
subsidy of 290 yuan (forty-two U.S. dollars) per month. However, just two
years after they were moved, this subsidy was canceled without any expla-
nation and many of the former peasants are still unemployed. Still others
complained about the top-down character of the project, which does not put
local perspectives at the center of the planning process. As one person asked
on the Chongming Online Club, “Why can only the so-called professors,
professionals, and the political leaders speak [for Chongming]? Why have
they not listened to our indigenous ideas? Only we have the real speaking
rights.”
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Others complain about the lack of resources for tourists.
On the other hand, this language of ecology is a very specifi c index of
social and economic development. Material prosperity is not only the pre-
condition for building the eco-city, it is also the goal. h is economic focus on
eco-development is clear in the debates on the Chongming Club, which cen-
tered around “What is meant by ecology?” h ese ideas were furiously
debated in an online forum held with Chenlei Peng, the Party secretary of
Chongming County. Most of the participants urged the government to accel-
erate the development process. For example, one Chongming resident said,
“It is a great idea from the central government to build Chongming into an
eco-island. However, it is hard for Chongming to rely on itself. I think it
needs more special care from the Shanghai city and the government. . . . In
recent years, I noticed that some professionals have suggested that Chong-
ming can be built into an off shore fi nancial center. h is is a great idea and it
is suitable for the defi nition of Chongming being an eco-island.”
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h us,
while some did express their desire for protecting the fresh air, unpolluted
