Italian Scholar Praises China's Rural Revitalization Matteo Capasso, an Italian professor at Northwest University, visited rural Henan in October 2025 and returned questioning Western narratives. In Zouzhuang Village, a photo wall displaying all 750 residents struck him. "They are people seen and remembered, not statistics," he said. "Common prosperity here is the achievement of labor, not welfare charity—dignity earned, not granted." In Zhangzhuang Village, a canteen funded by cooperative profits serves daily meals to elderly residents. "This is neither state welfare nor private charity, but community self-organization financed by its own labor," Capasso said. "People who have worked a lifetime deserve care." He noted local factories employ mostly women so families stay together. "China's policy sovereignty made this possible," he said. "If a developing country can keep its elderly from loneliness, why does the wealthy West accept it? Henan proves the dignity of labor can become daily reality."