Following Kay Kay's Life in China

Earth Report follows Kay Kay, a little girl from the province Guangzhou in China. She was born in 1992, the year of the Rio Earth Summit.

Following Kay Kay's Life in China Narrator: Kay-Kay was born in one of the world’s fastest growing cities, the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. We also started filming Kay- Kay when she was born in 1992, the year of Rio Earth Summit. Kay-Kay is the only child her parents Liang and Chung will be allowed to have under Chinese Law. Female: Having a little family husband, wife and baby, that’s the best, the most ideal. Now we’ve got our baby we are really happy. Narrator: Kay-Kay’s father Liang works in a paper mill. Much of the equipment here dates from the 1930’s and pollution levels are high. China burns more coal than any other country. Male: All industry in every country pollutes but our industry first has to grow and get strong. That’s when we would be able to worry about pollution control. Narrator: The Rio Summit was supposed to help to show the way for countries such as China to develop in less damaging ways. Kay- Kay and her generation leading in China’s polluted cities are six times more likely to die early of lung cancer than those in the cleaner air of the countryside. China’s raise to industrialize has transformed the lives of those meeting in her major cities. Kay-Kay: How are you? May name is Kay- Kay. When I grow up I want to have high heeled shoes and long hair and be a teacher! Narrator: Having just one child means Kay-Kay’s parents can spend more of their earnings on her. Female: We don’t have high heels in your size. Female: You can’t forget her to do things. You can’t force her to do things. She has to have her own way. They don’t have high heels! We’ll buy you an ice cream instead. Narrator: Pampered city children like Kay-Kay are sometimes called a generation of little emperors. Kay-Kay’s family now have standard of living their parents could not dream of but the environmental cost is high. The traffic is so congested that Kay-Kay’s parents now have to live apart to be able to get to work. They can only manage to be together at weekends. Male: With all these changes, you can’t be sure what will happen. We’re worried for Kay-Kay’s safety growing up in our new society. Narrator: The economic boom is concentrated in the cities. Since she was born Kay-Kay’s parents income has doubled. Before she’s a teenager, the world’s most populous nation will be well on the way to be coming the biggest consumer society on earth. Kay-Kay: When your mother loves you, and she hugs you, your happiness has no end. Narrator: The growth of Kay-Kay city Guangzhou continues unabated. It’s now a city of 5 million people. Pollution levels are still rising. New elevated roadways and the beginning of a brand new subway system are helping people to get around town. Female: Most of this is caused by factories. They open these fumes and pedestrians have to get more some to be able to breath. Say trees, don’t cut the trees. Let these trees leave and kind of going slowly. And let us try who makes the cause why are those fumes come out? Narrator: Kay-Kay and her parents have moved since we last found her. They’re renting a flat from her mother’s employers. The life in Guangzhou’s booming economy means Kay-Kay’s parents are working such long hours. She rarely gets the chance to see them. Female: Sometimes we go for days without getting any rest and then we can only have a meal together once a month. Often we can’t even manage that. Narrator: Kay-Kay’s father is now back under the same roof because he bought him a motorbike with his increased earnings. It cuts the time to work. He starts early in the morning and usually gets home at midnight. First, he drops Kay-Kay off at school. Kay-Kay’s school is jointly owned by a number of companies including her mom’s. The children of employees pay reduced fees. Kay-Kay’s mother is a truck driver. In addition to her eight-hour morning shift, she has another shift from 5 p.m. until midnight. Between, there is enough time for a short sleep and to make a meal. Male: This is one of the rare occasions Kay-Kay’s family is able to eat together. Female: And sometimes Kay-Kay can’t sleep at night. She gets afraid and waits for me to come back in the early hours of the morning. Narrator: Most nights Kay-Kay is left alone. She likes to play solitaire. When we first met Kay-Kay in 1992, she lived with her extended family four generations living under one roof. Female: Living this way is progressive. I don’t know about the future. We’re supposed to get back to, isn’t it? Narrator: Kay-Kay and Erdo lived in vastly different worlds but they both have fragmented families. Eight years on from the Rio Earth Summit, we are perhaps seeing a pattern emerging. Population pressure on the world’s environment is increasing and our children are feeling it.