Global Economy

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<b>Crisis raises risk of social unrest in Asia</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->In China, where the government grapples with thousands of violent protests annually, focus is on instability that could arise after millions of migrant workers who have lost their jobs in the cities return to their rural hometowns. Beijing, always fearful of social unrest, said at least 20 million migrant workers had been left jobless so far, indicating the figure could be even higher. The Communist Party's mouthpiece, the People's Daily, said a top national public security committee had identified jobless migrants as a key area of concern. "The flood of unemployed migrants poses big challenges to social stability in the countryside," said Professor Ren Yuan, a labour, migration and population studies expert at Shanghai's Fudan University. "If they cannot find work in rural areas the situation in the countryside will further deteriorate." Of particular concern are large numbers of younger migrants whose connection to rural lifestyles has been severed, Ren said. "If the second generation loses jobs in the city and can't find work in rural areas, and can't or don't want to become farmers, then they are left idle, which certainly increases social instability in rural areas." In Bangladesh, analysts differed on whether the global economic crisis is a security threat<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
They have no idea how Indians will react ?