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Home › Forums › "McRefugees": China's Homeless Problem

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  • January 22, 2016 at 2:29 pm #14869
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Thank you for sharing that article. I also found that article very interesting and shared it with my students. Earlier my geography students had studied the concept of diffusion and how restaurants like McDonald's adapt their menu to fit the diet and culture of the Chinese. What I found most interesting about the article was this idea of "community" that McDonald's is trying to create in China. The article stated that many of the McDonald's do not throw out the homeless people, and, in fact, it almost suggested that it encouraged them to come into the restaurant and seemed welcoming. It's almost as if McDonald's was trying to make their restaurant a haven for the homeless. It is very saddening though to see that countries suffer with homeless problem and like us, China also struggles to find ways to help the homeless. What also struck me was the Chinese man they interviewed in the article who stated his family had been beggars and homeless for many generations, dating back to the Ming Dynasty.

    January 22, 2016 at 2:29 pm #2361
    Rob_Hugo@PortNW
    Keymaster

    Here's a very interesting article that I shared with my students about the growing homeless problem in China and how many are finding refuge at 24-hour McDonald's restaurants in China. According to the article, many Chinese people how are down on their luck, scorned by their families, addicted to drugs or injured and cannot work, have no other choice but to find refuge at 24-hour McDonald's restaurants. Many Chinese come in the evening and start claiming their tables, chairs or areas at the local McDonald's restaurant to sleep and usually eat un-eaten food left at tables or trays and ready by the early morning and leave the restaurant before more customers arrive. In China, shelters only allow homeless to live for up to 10 days, so many Chinese find refuge in 24-hour McDonald's who don't seem to push them away; in fact, some homeless Chinese have been living in these restaurants for years and claim certain part of the restaurant as theirs. A very interesting read!
    Possible themes to discuss with students:
    -compare homeless problem in U.S. vs. China.
    -diffusion: how does the Chinese menu at McDonald's restaurants differ from the U.S. and why?
    -differing McDonald's restaurant policies about loitering, homeless, etc.?

    Link to article: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/02/world/asia/chinas-homeless-find-shelter-under-mcdonalds-golden-arches.html?_r=0

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