Xiaoling Chen's essay titled "‘They Want the Horse to Run but Without Providing Feed’: Labour Exploitation of Healthcare Workers in China" was published in the journal Made In China, as part of the issue "Out of the Fog". Completed in Spring 2023, this essay received generous support from the Gilbert White Doctoral Award granted by the Department of Geography at the University of Colorado Boulder. This essay primarily draws from ethnographic research conducted at Ling County People's Hospital in Guangdong Province between 2021 and 2022. Xiaoling also extends gratitude to the Society of Woman Geographers, and the Geography Department, the Graduate School, and CARTSS at CU Boulder for supporting her research activities.
This essay is a part of Xiaoling's hospital monograph, which explores the healthcare provision and access landscape for older Chinese citizens affected by cerebrovascular diseases, the third leading cause of death in China. This monograph is distinct from Xiaoling's dissertation on China's Covid-19 response, which examines three biopolitical projects—digital surveillance (Chen 2023; Chen and Oakes 2023), vaccination campaigns, and online censorship (Chen 2020). Following the completion of her dissertation, Xiaoling intends to conduct follow-up research for this monograph, aiming to present both during- and post-pandemic perspectives within the public hospital space.