Macau: Cold death
Leocardo [pt] comments on the news that 44 people have died because of the ferocious cold weather in Macau. “It is absolutely inconceivable that a developed country or territory allow their citizens to die because of cold weather. More important than the GDP or the human development index, these are small things that count a lot.”
2 comments
well, it seems that only two people died due to the cold temperatures. The Health Bureau held a press conferece to say that….
I agree that it’s difficult to measure “development.” The GDP figures are meaningless for understanding general living standards, as there is still much inequality in Macau. There are many individuals in Macau who live no better than those in central provinces of mainland China, and some squatter houses still exist where people have makeshift electricity and well water (such as just a block north-west from the private hospital, and two blocks down the hill from the fortress/museum). Every year people die from the weather (hot and cold) in Europe and North America, therefore I would agree with anyone who would try and make the case that those countries are not very “developed” either.