Electrical Inefficiency A Dark Spot for China – Peter S. Goodman
Beneath the cracked plaster ceilings of the Honghua Knitwear & Garment Factory, sewing machines sat motionless on a muggy afternoon, idled by a rolling blackout imposed to cope with chronic energy shortages. Laborers lolled on plywood bunks in a cramped and airless dormitory, resting before another illegal night shift.
Five miles away, as night fell on Shanghai’s famed waterfront promenade, the Bund, neon hummed to life and lights glowed from the heights of the financial center across the river. The same city government that orders local factories to shut down in the name of energy conservation also forces skyscrapers to keep lights on so that investment bankers digging into their foie gras at waterfront eateries can gaze upon a glittering homage to modern China.
