China analyst David Cowhig shared the following observation with CDT :
Peasant unrest has grabbed more attention in China over the last few years. I have noticed a common useage — such and such a policy is a “tranquilizer pill for the peasants”. I have seen it applied to the higher grain prices over the past year, to the policies pushed by Party and State Council Document No. 1 of 2004 and other policies. Google actually found 448 unique hits for “tranquilizer pill” and “peasants” when not adjacent and 126 hits when they are adjacent. Adjacent would be nongmin dingxinwan (entered in characters) meaning peasant tranquilizer pill, while nonadjacent would capture hits for adjacent plus other non-adjacent formulations such as nongmin chixia dingxinwan peasant eats a tranquilizer pill.
Some of them must be duplicate versions of press reports, but many are distinct. Just click on the Google search link above and see for yourself. Perhaps the use of the phrase tranquilizer pill for peasants nongmin dingxinwan could be charted over time to give us some idea of just when PRC central government and local policymakers will be reaching for their own tranquilizer pills!
