Friday, April 20, 2007

Li Yuanyuan Thanks to a blogger, ten-year-old Gong Jinghong has become the icon for the plight of migrant workers in China.

The parents of Gong Jinghong committed suicide at the end of March. They were impoverished migrant workers from Henan province, who spent 10 years working in Beijing. Two children, ten-year-old Jinghong and her teenaged brother, were left behind without any means. In typical Chinese fashion, the local community jumped into action.

We would not have heard about this both tearful and encouraging story had Beijing-based journalist and blogger Li Yuanyuan not taken her camera and covered the story. (Translation by Global Voices Online.)

In just a month, Gong Jinghong has become the poster child for about 150 million migrant workers and their plight. In the past, traditional media would select and display those icons -- but in China that role has been replaced by the Internet.

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