Overall: like the open and structure - good music - I would tighten, esp open (I made suggestions below) and try to get to the gentleman on the train sooner. Also made a few narration tweaks. TRANSCRIPT 39 00:15:42-00:15:45 Maybe there are factories closing down every minute. Is this verbatim translation - can we drop the “maybe“? 00:15:46-00:15:53 If they don’t have orders and they need to feed workers and pay wages — the costs are unbearable. TITLE: Victims of a Slowing Economy - - feels like we should be able to have a shoe metaphor in the title here ... agreed! At its peak, 1 out of every 4 sneakers in the world came from this neighborhood in Dongguan, China. But today, the streets seem close to abandoned, with only traces of the former boom left behind. MOVE TRANSCRIPT 28 00:08:50-00:08:54 Many factories moved to Bangladesh and Vietnam because human cost is low there. TRANSCRIPT 39 00:04:17-00:04:22 In 2007 and 2008, Salaries used to be just more than 1000 RMB per month. 00:04:22-00:04:25 Human cost was very low. 00:04:27-00:04:31 Now, it’s at least 3000 RMB/month. TRANSCRIPT 39 00:06:44-00:06:53 Now there are too many people because the big factories moved. There’s only small factories left and they need fewer workers, right? There’s a surplus of labor here. TRANSCRIPT 4 00:01:49-00:01:52 Mr. Tao: Our factory used to make shoes. 00:03:57-00:03:59 Mr. Tao: 293 workers in total just lost their jobs. 00:02:10-00:02:22 Mr. Tao: We don’t know how the financial chain broke, but they and haven’t give us wages for June, July and August. These laid-off workers have gathered outside of their old factory to discuss how to get their back wages paid. China’s shoe exports are in decline and for the millions of migrant workers who came here to earn a living, the slowing economy has begun to uproot their lives. TRANSCRIPT 4 00:08:08-00:08:14 Mr. Tao: At our age, you have already invested your time into this industry, it’s very difficult to switch to another industry. 00:08:15-00:08:18 Mr. Tao: We don’t have the technical skills to do other jobs. But For some, the factory closure might be the end of their urban dream. TRANSCRIPT 4 If our attempts to get our money back keep going nowhere, we really won’t be able to handle this crisis. And we will lose our confidence towards the government and other departments 00:20:42-00:20:50 Red woman: If we worked for 3 months and get nothing, then why would we come out and work? We can go back home and farm, which gives us stable income. — IN TRAIN - - 090 00:05:11-00:05:17 A man should have ambitions beyond his hometown. You’ve got to explore the world, right? 00:05:29-00:05:33 I didn’t have some big dream. My dream was to just make some money. Liu Lang came to Guangdong from Sichuan Province 20-years ago. 090 00:04:22-00:04:28 At that time, my family was very poor. We lived in the mountains 00:04:29-00:04:35 and we had trouble feeding ourselves. 00:04:35-00:04:37 Both food and shelter were a problem. 00:04:39-00:04:43 So I went out to work. music in - - > Modern China was built on the backs of workers like Mr. Liu. There’s almost as many migrant workers in China as there are people in the United States. Over 260 million have left their homes in the countryside to find work in city. And the fading shoe industry isn’t alone. Sector after sector has Other manufacturing sectors have failed to compete with cheaper business models in South and Southeast Asia. And with less work and less fewer jobs, an increasing amount of more migrant workers have started to question if the city is still the right place for them. 090 00:07:11-00:07:14 I worked my way up from a basic worker to a department head. 00:07:15-00:07:20 And my career basically ended today. 093 00:03:49-00:03:58 My wife and I were both working at that factory. We lost more than 20,000 RMB for the last three months. 00:03:58-00:04:03 20k is almost one person’s half-year income. The government has plans to transform China’s economy by moving focus to high tech and green industries. But their plan largely leaves out uneducated migrant workers who are too young to retire, but too old for entry level factory jobs. And with so many people like Mr. Liu, the slowing economy could be the start of a reverse migration pattern. for those who are unwilling to take entry-level factory jobs like those they had 20 or 30 years ago. 092 00:01:13-00:01:16 So now I’m taking the train home. 00:01:33-00:01:44 The factory closed down, so I’m taking this chance to go home because we haven’t spent much time with our families the entire time we’ve been working away from the village. 00:01:44-00:01:53 So I’ll take this chance to go back and be with my children. 231 00:03:34-00:03:38 Actually, I’ve spent more time with my boss than with my parents. For now, Mr. Liu is the exception, not the norm. Most migrant workers who lose their factory jobs will move on to another factory, although they might not get the wage they want. And as for these workers getting their back wages paid, China’s turbulent economy will likely hold on to that. TRANSCRIPT 28 00:03:22-00:03:32 Mr. Tao: Old Tao, factories are closing down! It’s not just here in Shao’an. It’s also the textile industry. Thousands of workers, they are also asking for wages, it’s the same thing. Other woman: Many people are asking for it. TRANSCRIPT 39 00:08:25-00:08:27 There’s no hope. 00:08:28-00:08:35 I definitely want it back, that’s our hard-earned money and we worked very hard and overtime for it. Who doesn’t want it back? 00:08:35-00:08:45 But the boss ran away, the machines, equipment and materials in the factory aren’t worth much money. 00:08:45-00:08:47 The company has lots of debt. ENDIT ONCE USED, BUT NOW UNUSED QUOTES 233 00:06:20-00:06:27 The shoe industry has largely moved to Southeast Asia. 00:06:27-00:06:39 Here, the costs seem to be too high. Companies that have low profits and basically cannot survive. 00:06:39-00:06:53 Many of our friends went to Vietnam or Cambodia or were hired to work there. 00:06:53-00:07:05 So for people like us ... those places (in Southeast Asia) have just started to develop, it’s possible to go find jobs there. 00:06:55-00:07:03 Many people who came here from the farms and working families, it’s difficult for them to find jobs. 00:07:03-00:07:08 Even if they find jobs, the factories and salaries are not so stable. 00:07:08-00:07:12 Factories can close down anytime. TRANSCRIPT 4 00:20:17-00:20:23 Red woman: If this thing keeps going nowhere, we really can’t take the crisis. 00:20:23-00:20:27 Ms Wu: And we will lose our confidence towards the government and other departments. 090 00:06:46-00:06:53 At first I was making the soles of shoes. 00:06:53-00:06:59 And then I learned some techniques and slowly moved up to management. 090 00:10:07-00:10:12 At first, some departments in the factory didn’t have work to do. 00:10:12-00:10:18 The boss’s initial plan was to let some people take vacation. 090 00:10:46-00:10:52 But as time went by, there was no salary. 00:10:52-00:11:01 So those who were still working stopped working because they didn’t get any wages. 231 00:04:11-00:04:23 Suddenly it was just gone. I feel like I don’t have any sense of accomplishment.