Farmers will now be forced to relocate...

Rolls of copper rod at the Luvata plant in Johor, Malaysia. Photographer: Munshi Ahmed/Bloomberg

Rolls of copper rod at the Luvata plant in Johor, Malaysia. Photographer: Munshi Ahmed/Bloomberg

"The government is hoping the farmers become urban consumers. Villagers typically grow their own food and provide their own energy. If the farmers find work in these new cities, they will buy electricity and use public transportation, purchase televisions and washing machines, and stoke the Chinese economy."

Source: China’s Great Uprooting | New York Times