Migrant workers deserve more respect

You see them everywhere in Beijing. Wearing tattered uniforms, battered helmets and hearty smiles. They sit along the sidewalks next to busy construction sites. They are the migrant workers and are the backbone of China's amazing economic rise.

And these people deserve everybody's respect.

When I came to Beijing for the first time I moved into an apartment near Wudaokou. The apartment was newly built and located in a district of small restaurants, suspicious-looking hair salons and Internet cafes.