China Meiguo

I've recently become a fan of a website called China Daily Show which offers humorous, parodic (and usually completely made-up) news stories. Since I tend to appreciate this form of highly sarcastic humor (which, despite the clearly fake nature of the stories, usually implies at least some element of truth or reality), I can't resist posting a link to one particular article - Desperate Romney Changes Mind on China. In the article, Romney attacks president Obama's "socialist welfare state" policies, praises China's lacks of social welfare, and is shown posing in a photo with a poor Chinese peasant family whose main social welfare will be their young children. In addition to making fun of Romney, this piece also pokes fun at China's largely lacking socialism in some elements of society (which poses a future threat as China's massive population experiences a demographic shift - more older people with a smaller working-age percentage of the population to support them).

Mitt in a photoshopped pose with a Chinese peasant family

• “China’s emphasis on standardized testing ensures the country will always have a pool of unskilled laborers, thankful for work under any conditions; laborers who lack the critical skills to see through nationalistic rhetoric that blames their problems on other countries, instead of structural inequities."
• “Under Obama, US regulators over-enforce the law and kill jobs . . . In China, it’s the complete opposite. There is an official embedded in the heart of every major enterprise, asking: ‘How can we work together to make even more money?"
• "Republicans and Beijing officials have more in common than one might think, said one senior Romney staffer on condition of complete deniability. Both favor low taxes – with the ultra-rich often paying none at all – while China’s minimal enforcement of environmental and safety regulations have led to double-digit economic growth. For those who gain the most, the benefits outweigh the many hazards."

"Imagine a post-Napster world in which you can search for whatever song or album you want and then download it for free from within the results page. You then own that music, the official version, and can take it with you wherever you want. That world exists, ladies and gentleman. It’s called China." 

A new Apple Store has just opened in Beijing which is the biggest in Asia. The store is guaranteed to be successful due to rich and upwardly mobile, highly image-conscious Chinese consumers and its location at the very popular Wangfujing pedestrian street and shopping area for foreign tourists and upscale Chinese. 

To celebrate the opening of the Wangfujing store, there was the currently obligatory performance of the Korean song Gangnam style with its silly horse dance (just can't escape this song wherever you go nowadays). The store takes up 2300 square meters (24,750 square feet for any Americans that can't visualize meters) and features a 3-floor, all-glass staircase.

A frontal view of Beijing's newest and biggest iStore

very interesting article entitled No Ancient Wisdom for China by James McGregor from his book, No Ancient Wisdom, No Followers: The Challenges of Chinese Authoritarian Capitalism. The title of the article is basically saying that modern China can't rely on its ancient past which contradicts almost all of China's long history of revering its so-called ancient wisdom. According to Chinese myth (or history, depending on how you wish to view it), very ancient China (4000 or so years ago) was a perfect society ruled by wise, moral leaders. Since the time of Confucius, these beliefs have greatly influenced Chinese philosophy, morality and social life. Whenever China has experienced major problems and challenges, one way of dealing with them has been to look back to the wisdom of these ancient rulers.

There aren't many American movies in theaters here in China. Usually, you can find one (maybe 2 or at most 3 in big theaters). There also isn't much variety in American movies shown in Chinese theaters - they're almost always blockbuster action films. Last week was no exception when I happened to walk by a theater on the campus of nearby Chengyi College and noticed this poster advertising  The Expendables 2 which was the only English-language film in this theater.

Here's the second in my series of Chinglish photos. This photo graces the front of a small store on the campus of nearby Chengyi College at Jimei University in the city of Xiamen. Being the only foreigner around, I surreptitiously took this photo, wondering whether the Chinese college students inside were scheming to somehow help resurrect Mitt Romney's presidential election campaign after he alienated at least 47% of the American (non-taxpaying) public. 

Here's a grass jelly drink (not sure whether its FUBO or not)

Things have been pretty violent throughout much of the world lately and sadly China is no exception although things are still much safer here than most countries in the world. One relatively good thing (at least from my perspective of self-interest) is that, unlike much of the world, here in China the violence isn't directed at Americans. Instead, young Chinese are venting their anger at Japan. When I visited the city of Xi'an in the past, I stayed at a hotel near the Bell Tower, a busy but pleasant and peaceful area. Here's some photos of this area during a recent protest showing Japanese brand automobiles turned over and set on fire.

Protests like this have been going on in many Chinese cities lately. Some have been peaceful demonstrations (as in the city of Xiamen where I'm living), but others have gotten violent with Japanese owned businesses being looted and the Japanese embassy in Beijing being assaulted by a crowd throwing rocks and eggs (fortunately I don't think the violence has resulted in any loss of lives as has tragically occurred in recent anti-American protests).

What is causing all this anger and violence? Well, that's probably a complicated question to answer. The simple answer is a group of small, (until lately) uninhabited islands in the South China Sea - the Diaoyu Islands if you're Chinese and the Senkaku Islands if you're Japanese. For a good explanation of the dispute over the Diaoyu Islands as well as a dispute between China and the Philippines over some other islands, see this NPR article.

To an extent, the dispute is also being fueled by politics. The Japanese government recently escalated the tension by purchasing the islands from private Japanese owners. Not surprisingly, this further incensed the Chinese to the extent that lots of young, hotheaded Chinese boys want to declare war and go kill Japanese. The Chinese state-controlled media are playing up Japan's actions and encouraging Chinese nationalism, possibly to divert attention from rumored internal discord over the presumptive soon-to-be new president Xi Jinping and the future leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and government.

Shanghaist has posted some video clips as well as photos of the protests here. 

The feelings of Chinese people toward Japan are probably unfathomable to most Westerners who are largely ignorant of history in this part of the world. In fact, while Chinese are clearly angry about Japan's assertion of control over the Diaoyu Islands, I believe that the anger rearing its head in protests today has much more to do with the past than the present. It is due in large part to justified resentment of Japan's invasion of China in the 1930s and horrendous atrocities committed by the Japanese army (rivaling their Nazi allies in Europe). However, modern anti-Japanese sentiment is also fueled largely by state propaganda which programs all young Chinese to hate Japanese. From what I've heard and read, the current protests have been, to some extent, encouraged by Chinese government and law enforcement authorities. While I'm sure the Chinese government doesn't want these protest to get too out of hand and violent, what better way to keep the Chinese public from protesting anything that might be occurring in China than by giving them a foreign enemy to protest against. 

China will soon have a new president. Unlike the United States, there's no election involved and therefore no political campaigning going on (from what I've been following back in America, that's a blessing!). While Obama, Romney and all their campaign mouthpieces are slinging mud around, China's political scene has been very quiet. Chinese politicians are actually very smart about this - by saying nothing in public, you can't really say anything stupid, be misquoted, or have what you say misinterpreted. 

VP Biden (and other American political candidates) could learn from VP Xi

It is, however, possible even in China, to go too far and be too quiet and invisible. Assumed president-to-be (and current vice-president), Xi Jinping (习近平), has apparently realized this after a 2 week disappearing act that would make Houdini jealous. He even blew off visits by foreign diplomats including Hillary Clinton. The Chinese blogosphere was consequently filled with rumors of what had become of Xi (from heart problems to assassination) until the Chinese blogocensors tried their best to eliminate such cyber-speculation. 

It turns out, at least according to the unofficial government story, that Mr. Xi has simply spent the last 2 weeks in bed, a perfectly logical place for a Chinese vice-president to be shortly before he is expected to be announced as the new president. Apparently, Xi hurt his back swimming and was ordered by his doctor to stay in bed. Nothing at all suspicious about this - as we all know, swimming often leads to back injuries requiring 2 weeks of bed rest. This must be why Chinese people don't swim, unless they're in the Olympics - in which case they promptly go to bed for several weeks after competing.

And of course, its also perfectly logical that the Chinese government made no effort to inform the public of why Xi disappeared. The health of government leaders is a state secret that must be protected. This does seem to counter Communist doctrine under former leader, Mao Zedong, who made swimming a huge public spectacle when he braved the waters of the mighty Yangtze River to show off his health and leadership strength.

Anyway, staying in bed seems to have worked since Xi finally made a public appearance yesterday in Beijing and, according to one observer, he looked healthy. Although I haven't found anything to corroborate this, I'd bet that his doctor also ordered him to "drink hot water" since that's the Chinese cure for all ailments.

Obama, Biden, Romney, Ryan and all related cronies - please go to bed. Set your alarm clocks for the morning after the election takes place. Think of the benefits - whoever wins will be well-rested, whoever loses can just turn over and go back to sleep and America will undoubtedly be a better place as a result.

Disclaimer: This post involves sarcasm and satire. While I believe in democracy and the American election system, I also believe that presidential campaigns have become a joke and (almost) believe that the Chinese system is better (in some ways). I'm also glad that Mr. Xi is ok and respectfully encourage him to stop swimming in water and keep drinking hot water.

While in Beijing recently for a conference, I visited the 798 Art District (798 艺术区),  an interesting area of eclectic galleries and shops housed in some interesting old buildings.

Strange art in Beijing

While recently attending the 2012 East West Center International Conference in Beijing, I heard U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke's keynote speech. Overall, Locke's speech was very diplomatic, urging cooperation between China and the United States and I agreed with almost all of his points in that regard. However, Locke made one statement that struck me as a serious exaggeration - indicating that everyone is in agreement about the U.S. military presence in Asia being positive for the security of the region. Locke may have been referring to the United States' role in fighting the Japanese in WWII which many Asians may be appreciative of, but that appreciation doesn't necessarily extend to the U.S. military presence in the more recent era. Two days after hearing Locke's speech, I went to the 798 Art District in Beijing and saw the following artwork in one of the many galleries.

Chinese girl pissing on American aircraft carrier

Ambassador Gary Locke at East-West Center Conference in Beijing

I'm in Beijing for a conference hosted by the East-West Center and Peking University which started this morning with a keynote speech by U.S. Ambassador to China, Gary Locke (the first Chinese-American ambassador to China).

Just saw a story/press release about NBA superstar Kevin Garnett coming to China. No, not permanently - he isn't leaving the Boston and the Celtics for the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association). Instead, its just a short visit sponsored by one of his sponsors, Chinese sportswear company Anta which is headquartered in Fujian Province (my current home). Garnett blew off Addias (his former shoe sponsor) for Anta in 2010 and I assume that decision had at least as much to do with money as it did with shoe quality or preferences.

 

Kevin Garnett in Chinese Anta commercial with English subtitles

Surprisingly, one of the four cities Garnett is supposed to make a stop at is Zhengzhou, where I worked for a year before moving to my current home in Xiamen. Zhengzhou certainly isn't a well-known city to foreigners (or even to many Chinese) and isn't one of the nicest cities in China to spend time in - its a dirty, gloomy city, overpopulated city (like many in China) although I found the people to be very nice and it does have some interesting ancient history going back to the Shang Dynasty. Anyway basketball is huge in China so I'm sure KG will have no problem drawing humongous Chinese-sized crowds in Zhengzhou and any other cities he appears in.

Me in one of the scenic parts of Zhengzhou

One of the many things I like to take photos of in China are signs translated into English or, more accurately, mistranslated into English. Chinese mistranslated into English is sometimes referred to as Chinglish. Sometimes these are the result of a poor translator, other times the Chinese just doesn't translate into English, and I can't help suspecting that sometimes people do this just to be funny (though I may be assuming more intelligence or sense of humor than warranted). Whatever the reason, I often find these signs quite amusing so I thought I'd start sharing.

While in the Dubai airport on my way back to China a few days ago, I happened to look at one of the TV monitors in the waiting area and saw the news about the Colorado movie theater massacre that took place that day. Like most people, I felt shock and sadness about the tragedy, but I also felt a bit embarrassed because news like this seems to happen rather frequently in America. Whether American, Chinese or any other nationality, I imagine that the vast majority of people worldwide sympathize with the victims and struggle to understand what could possibly motivate someone to randomly gun down people for no apparent reason.


In China, in addition to shock and sympathy, there's also another reaction - a confirmation of the belief that America is a violent and dangerous country. Sadly (at least to me), this view is largely correct. Comparatively, China has is much safer than America (at least in terms of violent crime). 


I often talk with Chinese college students trying to get an idea of what their perceptions of Americans are and while there are also many positive views, one of the most common responses is that Americans all have guns. In discussion sessions about American culture, the most common question I hear is "why do Americans all have guns?" I try to answer logically by first explaining that the notion that all Americans have guns is an exaggeration. Then, I try to explain some of the justifications offered for gun ownership in America (self defense, sport, hunting). Having grown up watching American films and TV shows (many of which feature guns being used by people to kill others), they seem to have a hard time accepting my explanations (I guess I can't blame them). 


To Chinese people, there's a very simple way to prevent tragedies such as that which occurred in Colorado and they can't understand why we let these things continue to happen in America. When they ask why the government doesn't stop people from owning guns, I try to explain that owning guns also involves a very important American ideal of individual freedom. While no one has ever put it this bluntly to me, my guess is that they view the notion that freedom includes the right to own guns as ridiculous.


While I certainly value freedom, I have to admit that I'd voluntarily sacrifice some of my freedom to reduce the amount of pointless slaughter that occurs when idiots and lunatics like James Holmes have easy access to guns. Without debating the Constitutional issue of the right to bear arms (although I wish people would actually read the whole second amendment to the Constitution which grants this right for the purpose of forming a militia to provide security), I think we have gone beyond the realm of sanity in America at least in terms of allowing people such easy access to guns and especially automatic weapons. Today, I came across a Twitter post by Jason Alexander (best known for his role in the TV show Seinfeld). Its kind of sad when George Costanza is the voice of reason for America, especially knowing that this voice will continue to be mostly ignored.

A few months ago I took some photos one evening while walking along the boardwalk in Xiamen (厦门).

A shot taken from Xiamen looking toward Gulangyu Island

Chinese, like most people, love rumors and scandals, especially when they involve world famous celebrities and government leaders. So a recent rumor that famous actress Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, Rush Hour 2, etc.) has been prostituting herself for $1.5 million per transaction with Bo Xilai (former politician currently under arrest) has created quite a stir in the not-so-traditional Chinese media (i.e., the Chinese blogosphere).

Several years ago, I visited the town of Yangshuo which is part of Guilin, located in Guanxi Province of southern China. Yangshuo is famous for its scenery, especially the karst peaks. Many visitors to Yangshuo come from Guilin by boat along the scenic Li River which is a great way to travel and enjoy the Chinese countryside.