Getting the Story

In order to quench my thirst for up-to-date current events and independent journalism I usually log onto New York Times - a vital national resource. Living in a foreign country whose government has little respect for the truth has taught me many things, among them the doggedness and skeptism needed to analyse information coming from all different sources.

CCTV is China's main propaganda machine. In 2003, when the deadly SARS virus was threatening to trigger a global pandemic, the Chinese government (CCTV) persistently denied that its country contained the seeds of such an outbreak even though the simple reporting of this fact was the needed first step toward prevention of a monumental public health disaster. In the face of this coverup, a courageous Chinese surgeon drafted a detailed letter identifying SARS cases in Beijing itself and had it delivered to The New York Times and Wall Street Journal (actually it was first delivered to Murdoch's Hong Kong TV network for public broadcasting but did nothing with it - Rupurt Murdoch's soft-pedalling reporting and self-censorship of Chinese related stories is not uncommon).

China also doesn't have much free and intrepid journalism when it comes to international stories. In most countries around the world, they don't have correspondents and have to receive most of their information from the associated press. For example, in light of the recent assassination of Benazir Bhutto, CCTV's website wrote:


Bhutto Assassinated in explosion attack on Rally

"A supporter of Pakistan former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto mourns deaths of his colleagues after a suicide attack in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2007. Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto died Thursday evening after being shot and seriously injured in an explosion near the capital Islamabad. (Xinhua/AP Photo)"


I tried finding the story behind the facts, but there was none. I stumbled upon an article (not editorial) from last month describing the US as being a meddling country with no respect for the sovereignty of nations as it attempts to prepare an aid package with strings attached for Pakistan. CCTV constantly writes as if the US is the sole player in the international arena and the other members of the international community do not pull any sway. Clearly, the US-led War in Iraq only strengthened this belief. From a psychological standpoint, the government wants to maintain China's "peaceful rise" but although they look at US power and prosperity with envious eyes, the Communist Party will play all the right cards to foster contempt for their rival in the West and spark nationalism as they try to become the worlds number one superpower. Propaganda is nothing new to Chinese society, I just miss reading a real newspaper that wasn't digital.

Perhaps there is more or less to said about this but I have to run - I'm late for Korean BBQ.

Lampchops Roasting On an Open Fire

Although the spirit of Christmas is hard to capture while living amongst Beijing's commercialized atheists, I was fortunate enough to celebrate the holidays with friends who shared the same traditional values as I. One could say I had a very merry Christmas.

The night of December 23rd, my girlfriend and I had the get the apartment ready for a little soiree we were hosting on Christmas Eve. A Christmas tree (fake) was given to me by one of my students and although most ornaments and the star were included, the stand was missing. Fortunately, this tree was about one tenth the size I was used to and an old flower pot and a few rocks managed to suffice. The front door hung a wreath. Our stockings were placed in front of the large air conditioning machine. The living room was covered in candles, little Santa dolls, and candy canes. With the resources we had (mainly Walmart) I think we did a pretty good job with the Christmas decorations. My girlfriend was up late that night- from my experiences, females believe that if a home is not pristine and tidy, it reflects poorly on them.

On Christmas eve, after my lessons, I had only one job to accomplish before our dinner - find new Christmas tree lights (the ones we had were duds right out of the box). I biked to one, two, three, four supermarkets in the area. No luck. I was told by shop owners with Christmas displays that the best place to buy Christmas lights was on the streets. I paced up and down the sidewalks of Wudaokou which were flooded with thousands of people finishing their Christmas shopping. Two burly cops would appear every half hour causing every illicit vendor to scoop up their merchandise in a bed sheet and book it - when the cops were out of sight, vendors ran back to their spots as fast as they fled. After a few inquiries, I discovered that the Christmas lights guy had not arrived yet and was MIA according to his buddies. With 45 minutes left before guests would be arriving at my door, in sheer desperation, I asked a street promoter standing outside a hair cuttery how much it would cost to acquire the lights on their Christmas tree. A few moments of bewilderment was followed by a flash of Christmas spirit, and for a hefty price of 100 kuai ($12.5), my new found friend was twirling the tree as I carefully took off the lights. It wouldn't feel like Christmas without that last minute purchase.

Everyone who came to my home was asked to bring a bottle of red wine and a dish - and since we didn't really coordinate on the food, everyone ended up bringing a chicken dish - baked, roasted, and fried (including KFC). But all in all, the food was stuffing, the wine was diverse, and the company (consisting of people from Korea, America, China, and Hong Kong) was wonderful. The mood was very pleasant as we ate by candle light to a selection of my favorite Christmas songs and I ate cheesecake for the first time in Beijing - and the first time on Christmas. This lovely dinner however was quickly transferred to my girl's bar. The rest of the evening was spent drinking discounted cocktails and rocking out to Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You.

There was nothing exceptional about Christmas day since most people had to go to work and Santa clearly was too busy to fly to Beijing. I however managed to watched Home Alone I and II in my pjs which made me particularly happy. Christmas dinner however was unusual to say the least. An American friend of mine who has spent most of his life in Asia took it upon himself to find fresh lamb meat for the occassion. He somehow someway got permission to slaughter a lamb in one of Beijing's mosques and then haul the 50 kilo carcass back to his apartment. On Christmas day, it was roasted over a fire pit and served for dinner. The feast also included mashed potatoes, stuffing, two baked chickens, and garlic bread. Although 20 of us chowed down, I reckon his frig will be full of lamb meat for the coming weeks. It was absolutely delicious - its been some time since I've had some home style cooking.

Christmas in China lacks tradition and family, but it can still be a cheerful celebration as long as you surround yourself with friends and loved ones - and Nat King Cole. Shengdan Jie Kuale - or MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

$mas

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, la la la la la (I was never talented in remembering lyrics). Even in Beijing you can see Christmas coming. But don't be fooled. I am a huge believer in the essence of Christmas, the spirit, the giddiness, the warmth attributed to family and friends (and hot coco). It's marching into the wilderness to find that perfect tree, stealing delicious cookie dough from an ambitious mother, and watching Home Alone 1&2 all afternoon in your pajamas. Christmas has taken over Beijing, but it's a soulless Christmas.

Let me step back for a moment. China is a country with no central faith or overriding dogma in the middle of a massive rehabilitation as it replaces socialist idealism with pragmatism. The Chinese have recently brought back much of their culture and tradition that was nearly destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, but when China opened up in the 1980s, it also quickly began to Westernize. The stigma attached to foreign products and styles has reversed and today I can walk into any one of Beijing's many KFCs with a group of English speaking teenagers flashing their Prada & Gucci accessories while listening to Snoop Dogg on their new iPhones. A taste for Western fashion, culture and technology is not uncommon among people around the world who have spending money. And since no Chinese company can match the marketing power of brands like Nike and Coca Cola, Chinese shop and restaurant owners have no choice but to stay competitive by satisfying the growing demand. This is Westernization 101 and everybody is aware of this trend of assimilation making the world ever smaller.

But China has moved on to Westernization 102. A great way to make even more money than selling Western goods is selling Western holidays – primarily those that have become highly commercialized (aka Christmas and Valentine’s Day). Practically every business in Beijing has the same Santa poster on its front door, a tacky seizure-conducive lighting display, or a small army of fuwuyuan, waiters and waitresses, wearing Santa hats.

When I asked my students (mostly young adults) what they knew about Christmas, they delivered the whole spiel about Santa and receiving presents in a sock and of course eating Christmas dinner (a recent phenomenon among young urban Chinese). But when I questioned them about the origins of Christmas, they were dumbstruck. Trying to hint that it was a religious holiday, I asked them what group of people celebrated Christmas. A few responded with “foreigners celebrate Christmas, it’s a foreigner holiday.” The Chinese have taken the Christ out of Christmas completely and more importantly there are no real Christmas trees, no ovens to bake Christmas cookies, and no one has even heard of Macaulay Culkin. Bah Humbug!


I think the Chinese are confused. Should I pray to Buddha first and then wish myself a Merry Christmas (on the banner) or vice-versa?

The Christmas tree (or the appearance of one) outside my office building.

Sexy Cars

I'm sure I have already elaborated on the horrid road conditions in Beijing. Feichang duche or bad traffic is so common and consistent throughout the day, rush hour traffic has lost its meaning. In 1996 the city's roads only catered to roughly 300,000 cars - since then the number of drivers has risen to 3.5 million with 1,200 new cars on the road every day. Of course, Beijing planners thinks that if you build more highways, the problem will be solved...wrong. The city's layout has fundamental flaws including a lack of multiple centralized business centers and an incomplete grid system. To clarify, a city with a grid has blocks. In New York you can walk around a four sided block in 5 minutes. In Beijing, 30 to 40 minutes. For example, my apartment building is in the middle of a block - its about 2 or 3 football fields to the closest city street. So if New York was anything like Beijing, there would be half as many avenues and the only navigatable streets would be 20th street, 30th street, 40th street, and so on.

So naturally Beijing held an international car show last year to present the newest and sexiest cars from around the world to the city's growiing number or affluent urbanities. The cars were absolutely gorgeous... and so were some of the models.

Communist Holiday Planning

Just last month, the Communist Party delivered new plans to reshuffle China's rigid national holiday system, left over from the years of hard line Maoism. It consists of three major 3-day holidays: Spring Festival (starting on Chinese New Year and usually in February), Labor Week (starting on May 1) and National Week (starting on October 1). For each 3-day holiday, the Saturday prior becomes a work/school day as well as the following Sunday. Therefore, by mere substitution the Chinese can have rest from a Sunday to a Saturday for eac holiday. Naturally, this idea of going to school on a Sunday may sound inconceivable to a Westerner rooted in the traditions of the church.

Students have breaks between semesters, but workers are only legally allotted break during the specified dates mentioned above to take rest, go travelling, or return to their hometown to see their families. Thus the word for "holiday" and "vacation"- jiaqi - is the same in Chinese. The concept of choosing to go on vacation outside a national holiday seems foreign since most Chinese companies do not allow workers to take time off other than those days required by the government. The argument for such a structured system is straightforward - its easy, nationalistic, and convenient for families with two-working parents. However, the prevailing paradigms no longer stick and its inspiring to witness the system in the midst of a reform. China and the Chinese people can no longer continue along this socialist holiday planning approach for three main reasons.

One, 1.3 billion people. Need I say more. Imagine everyone in the US taking to the highways, train stations, and airports in one massive surge - and then multiply that by four. Public transportation in utter chaos, people stuffing into train cars like they were trying to outrun a war, tickets being sold out weeks or even months in advance. In my personal experience, the national holidays are the worst time to travel. Besides public transportation, popular tourist spots and nature retreats are overwhelmed and hotels always jack up their rates - many expats take one look at these abominable conditions and skip out of China - usually to Thailand, Korea, or Indonesia.

Two, when the system was created, social mobility was pretty much at a standstill. But in the last 30 years, at least a quarter of a billion Chinese have left their rural hometowns to realize their dreams in the cities, primarily along the eastern coastline. The metropolitan areas of Shenzhen-Guangzhou, Shanghai-Hangzhou-Suzhou, and Beijing-Tianjin each receive thousands of new residents every day with millions more expected in the next few years. When the holidays come, this migrant population exits the city to see their families back in the heart of the mainland. Shenzhen in 1982 was a farm town with only 300,000 residents or so - today this emerald city across the river from Hong Kong is approaching the 10 million mark. But during family holidays like Chinese New Year, big cities like Shenzhen and Beijing become ghost towns, and foreigners rule the streets!!!

Three, the growing stress on public transportation and infrastructure is not just because China is getting bigger and more people are working far from their families, but because many more people can live comfortably now and have enough money to take the kid (not kids) to see the terracotta warriors, or the home of Confucius, or the Panda Reserve in Sichuan Province. The society is modernizing and the Chinese are developing new tastes for history, culture, and nature - and sight-seeing around China is the best way to satisfy these natural desires. As we see China's middle class balloon at rapid speeds, we will also see many more Chinese tourists overseas - and the international tourist industry is currently preparing for this inevitable explosion.

The new reform will shorten Labor Week in May (interesting choice for "socialist" country) and will give one-day holidays on three separate occasions: Dragon Boat Festival (in June), Tomb Sweeping Day (in April) and the Moon Festival (in October). All of these traditional holidays contain interesting stories and customs and will hopefully elaborate on them when the time comes.

All in all, the reform is a important first step towards the dismantling of national holiday planning and will help unclog the countries arteries during a normally congested May. I look forward to the day the Communist Party revamps the whole system and implements a new labor law that requires employers to give a certain number of vacation days. Then Chinese will know know what it's like like to go on a vacation - without the whole country.

Nyet

Like most international communities in the world, the common language among Beijing expats is English. Whether you're from the Americas, Europe, Africa, India, Australia, or even South East Asia, English is likely your first or second language - and if its not, you will have a hard time living abroad. Two large groups however have found refuge in numbers and have carved out large neighborhoods in the city for its people of common tongue and customs to dwell, eat, shop, and work together - and no, its not Chinatown. As you might have guested, Beijing's largest foreign populations are also North China's closest neighbors - South Korea and Russia.

Although many Koreans can speak English and Korean society is very modern drawing much influence from the West, the sheer numbers residing in Beijing alone (tens of thousands) makes it easy and convenient to congregate in a cultural comfort zone. In Beijing, a residential area called Wangjing is well known for its overwhelming Korean population and the college town at Wudaokou is sometimes refereed to as Little Korea (given that 40 percent of all foreign students are Korean). Korean people and Korean culture is a huge part of my life here and I will save my experiences and thoughts on that subject for another post.

So lets talk about the Russians. But first, let me make it clear that I find it ignorant to use over simplifications, generalizations, and stereotypes to judge individuals of different religions, sexual orientations, races, nationalities or what-have-you. My attempt to talk about a specific group of people is rooted in personal observation and testimonies of qualified others. Love and Peace.

Russians have it bad. They have a hard time being accepted by others. They can't speak English at all, not even a little, so its difficult for them to share with the rest of the international community. They look like they should be from a developed modern country with a stable economy and relatively large pockets - but they aren't. I personally don't care about how broken your economy is or the thickness of your wallet, but the Chinese do. A country that strives for legitimacy through developing its economy and making money draws admiration from rich America and disregard for poor Russia. A stall girl at the Silk Market, a hot spot for buying fake luxury merchandise for tourists, told me that she hates bargaining with the Russians because they won't buy anything unless it's just barley above the wholesale price. In the business of trade, Russians are considered lihai, or hardcore. From now on, whenever I bargain in Beijing, I tell the girls I'm Russian (in Chinese) to receive a better price. After making the purchase I will confess that I'm American often followed by a playful punch in the arm form a 4 foot girl yelping "Ni pian wo" - You Cheated Me.

The Russian Area is based around Yabao Street with fun Russian restaurants, clubs, shops, and hotels. Last week, I had the pleasure of strolling through this neighborhood West of Ritan Park on my way to a cafe across from the Brazilian Embassy that holds trivia every Tuesday night. Anyway, I felt extremely out of place. All the signs were in Russian, tall blondes with leather boots parading around with garbage bags half full of fake clothing, scary looking Russian truckers (we don't get many truckers from the States over in these parts), shady dim-lite bars with Russian hookers hanging out in the back. But the best part of walking around is to be talked to in Russian by Chinese street vendors, rickshaw drivers, and even beggars.

I would politely respond by saying Nyet, meaning no.

The Big Party

Above: The Bird's Nest, Beijing's National Olympic Stadium ($400 million, 100,000 seats) is scheduled to open this April. This pic I took from my camera phone while biking with me pops.

Everyday I am told that the 2008 Olympic Games will be in every way awesome, everyone will be overflowing with awe, the fanfare surrounding a spectacle of this magnitude will undoubtedly shake the world and bring upon the birth of a new age... a new China. And it goes on and on. I do believe that China is developing at a scary and unprecedented pace with dozens of communities going up at the blink of an eye and with modernization and openness spreading to every corner of the nation. And I do see the importance of educating the Chinese people in regards to civility, sports, and English in preparation for the Olympics. I understand the significance of hosting the Olympics for the first time ever in China and the importance of showing the world that China is a legitimate and friendly power with peaceful ambitions and a warm heart. I get it...... But the hype is driving me crazy, it's driving every expat crazy. Imagine you have a friend that is really excited about his two week party he wants to have in 5 or 6 years, and he brings it up everyday.

I don't know what people in Beijing are going to do after the Olympics. China loves short term goals. At most 5 years (like the Communist Party's popular 5 year plan). If the government doesn't put forth more immediate public-oriented goals or sign up to host another party, the people will be forced to look 10, 20, 30 years ahead - and that's not possible. 30 years ago most of them were memorizing Mao's little red book, starving to death, or beating their teachers. I don't think things will get that sour again but to a Chinese person (30 or even 20 years is enough to turn a country completely upside down). And sustainable stability seems like an inconceivable prospect considering the dozens of unresolved issues threatening China's economy, government, society, and environment.

It gives be goosebumps just thinking about all of them. This post is over.

Mei Banfa

Its unfortunate that most Americans don't realize how lucky they are to be living in a nation guided by a constitution rooted in the principles of liberty and justice and a government and legal system sworn to uphold them. Living in Red China is a very different experience.

"Justice" in particular is a concept that never troubled me much growing up. You did something illegal, you were found guilty by a court, and punished under the full extent of the law. My parents friends were lawyers and judges, my college buddies were studying to be lawyers, I read To Kill A Mockingbird, I've watched Ally McBeal and Liar Liar, and I've been in court a few times (for itty bitty misdemeanors & speeding tickets). The process is all to familiar to us. The rule of law, or fazhi, seems as natural as going to school. The American legal system is a huge part of American culture - even my Irish friend (more of a bar acquaintance) admits that he knows when to plea the fifth or the need to prove "beyond reasonable doubt."

In the US, the "law" encompasses all and is above everyone including the leaders. In China, the law is a piece of paper filed somewhere in a large state building. Do they apply to everyone? No. Are ambiguous violations like revealing state secrets (talking to foreigners), fostering social instability (talking about human rights) or threatening national security(talking about Taiwan) used to punish and imprison people every day? Yes . Do unbiased judges interpret laws and deliver sentences or Communist Party members with little experience on the bench? I think you know. My point is that the law is still developing and as long as the Communist Party has strict central authority over the country and its citizens, an independent legal system will never fully emerge.

I love to live in Beijing, don't get me wrong, but it takes discipline and some mental reformatting to move from a place where I know my rights to a society where I don't, and no matter how hard I try, I will never feel completely safe here. Although the days of imprisoning foreigners without trial are beginning to disappear, I think one will be surprised to learn the real statistics concerning the number of laowai, a common but derogatory term for foreigners, that are currently in Chinese prisons. Perhaps just a rumor, but a friend of mine told me about this Russian classmate of his who was accidentally strangled by her Kazak boyfriend during intercourse. After no confessions were made (to the police) and a visit from the girl's rich father, the police quickly arrested a Nigerian man, and executed him the following week. Beijing police don't like open ended investigations - I think it illuminates their incompetency.

Of course, this sort of punishment system or renzhi, rule of the people, can have its upside as well. The following two stories is about my friend "I" and how the police don't follow the procedures laid out by the law, but rather act on personality and mood.

About two years ago, I was at a bar in Wudaokou called Lush, a very trendy college hangout. I was with a couple of American friends and our girlfriends. One of my study abroad mates, we'll call him Jack, had just come back from his apartment adjacent to the bar with a footprint on his back. This hot tempered Texan explained how a baoan, a security guard, in his own complex kicked him for climbing over the nearest gate that closes at 11 pm. Before I knew it, we were walking back to the apartment complex preparing to relinquish vengeance on some punk high school baoan (I promise that I have matured since then). With Jack a few steps in front of me and this other guy, I was witness to the first strike made upon the security boys face. From that moment things escalated quickly - a dozen or so baoan joined in the skirmish, old men were throwing chairs that I caught in midair and then used to swat people away, Jack had two or three pinned to ground, my other friend had three in a headlock (it was if we were each Leo from the matrix fighting off the agents with ease). A point came, however, that it was 3 on 20 or so and that we knew we had to get the hell out of there. We ran to Jack's apartment, but since we had given all our keys and wallets to our girlfriends out of harms way, we were trapped. But after suffering a few hits from a large pole the baoan had just collected, we had no choice but to break the door down, run up 18 flights of stairs, wait for the girls to come and unlock the door, and then call the police.

The jingcha, or police, did not know what to do with us. We immediately went to the station in their paddy wagon to resolve the issue. When the opposing members arrived all battered up with bloody noses and a few needing support to walk straight, we knew it was going to be a long night. We weren't processed, no identification was given, there was no jail cell waiting for anybody. Just a few cops drinking red bull and smoking cigarettes waiting around for the translator to arrive. We talked, received threats, they told Jack he would go to jail if anybody had a broken nose (considered a very high offense in China), and did this for about 6 hours. When the cops got tired, they said someone had to pay for the door, after another hour of negotiating the price split, we paid and were let go. During the following months Jack became good friends with his baoan.

In the US, any violent attack or disturbance of that scale would result in mugshots and fingerprinting followed by a court date. It was an incredibly stupid decision on my part to get involved but I really believed that I learned a lot about China that night. The police don't have to disturb the harmony of society with arrests and court dates as long as they deliver their own form of punishment - a mixture of fear, anxiety and inconvenience. It feels almost like vigilante justice given by those who are authorized to uphold the law if they so please. But sometimes, the law is so vague that upholding it can be interpreted differently by each individual cop.

My second story which took place last year is about how I got busted for working illegally. Although the majority of teachers/tutors in Beijing do not have the correct visa to legally accept money (mainly because they are mostly students studying Chinese), the police tend to turn a blind eye (I once taught a policewoman's son for instance). But to my misfortune, one of the tutoring agencies was raided (clearly the boss didn't pay attention to who he should be paying off) and my name, passport number, and phone number were given. A day later I found myself in the basement of the Public Security Bureau being questioned and reprimanded. A week later, in the same basement, I was told they wanted to cancel my visa (in exchange for a 10 day tourist visa) and pay them 2000 kuai ($250). I was confused and demanded to see the law in writing and how they came upon this arbitrary fine - they refused. I foolishly said that I wanted to talk to my lawyer first (it works in American movies). At that point, their faces became red as they shouted "If I see you on your mobile, I promise that I will black list you from China." As my heart pounded against my chest at a thousand mile per hour, I slowly swallowed by pride, signed whatever they wanted me to and left knowing that it was going to be an expensive week. The police blackmailed me, I had do legal recourse to defend myself, I was powerless. Mei Banfa! (what are ya gonna do)! So I went on early vacation to Macau.

For most of my life in the States I was unconcerned with improving my rights, the law, the process - it all seemed natural and mei banfa. But as I continue to live in China, I realize how much change had to have taken place since the founding fathers up to the 60's and the progressive reforms that give the security and assurances citizens need to live freely. By no means is America perfect in this regard, and by no means should we stop fighting for what is right, what is progressive, what is forward thinking - but unfortunately I didn't feel passionate about such issues until recently, falling into that old-age cliche - you don't know what you've been given until you don't have it anymore.

Two Birthdays Are Better Than One

Yesterday, I taught a new student who didn't know when his birthday was. All he could tell me was that he was born on the 5th day of the lunar calendar in the year of 1982. Like most Chinese (and Koreans) he only celebrates his moon birthday which changes every year. This year, the first day of the Chinese lunar year will be February 7 - so my student's moon birthday will be on February 11. If your moon birthday is later in the year, a program on most Chinese mobile phones will help you calculate the exact date in the Gregorian calendar (our calendar) it falls on. Apparently the year that your birthday and moon birthday fall on the same day is supposed to be really special - some unlucky people die of old age before this happens to them.

Before our lesson was over I asked to see his ID card, which surely contains his real birthday. It said February 14, but he assured me a government employee accidentally entered his date of birth incorrectly (or just had a special fondness for Valentine's Day).

Go to this link (http://www.asia-home.com/china/cncaps.php?lang=en) to find out when your moon birthday is.

Super Osama (not Mario) Games

Political correctness and being self aware about how one labels and describes a particular group or class of people is a trait that takes most societies a considerable amount of time and discipline to master. Americans have come a long way since the days when the "N" word was casually spoken, when women were told to stay in the kitchen, and when newspapers talked about Chinese coolies like they were lesser humans. Our society still suffers from discrimination, narrow-mindedness, and bigotry that festers in the minds of the less educated and ignorant - you'll be surprised how ill informed and hateful many 21st-century Americans are - but despite this, because mainstream media find its way into every facet of our lives, most of us are at least aware of what is socially acceptable and what is not. A country boy from Wyoming might hate homosexuals but unless he's some religious fanatic, he'll probably not casually advertise his prejudice views on national television. No restaurant in New York will advertise the fact that they don't want to serve Puerto Ricans - although a troubled restaurant manager may genuinely dislike Puerto Ricans, he is still aware of the social backlash from his political incorrectness and blatant discrimination.

Where am I going with this? I just want to bring light to some of the absurdities that I have heard and seen in China, even within the intellectual crowd. Its not the blind hate that's most shocking (the US has plenty of that) but the incredibly immature reasoning that they use to judge people which shows their lack of education and exposure to different peoples, cultures, and lifestyles - like when toddlers speak their mind.

For example, I have been told by a pair of waitresses that they dislike African men people because their skin looks dirty. I have been told by government workers that China does not have any gays. I have walked into bars with signs on the front that say, ribenren bu rang jin, No Japanese Allowed. I have been told by my teacher that beggars are a pathetic people. I have had taxi drivers openly tell me that their wife is a sanba, an idiot housewife.

Perhaps I am spoiled, naive, an American suburban-raised college graduate who was to young to remember the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Perhaps China is a just a developing country with developing thoughts and views and they don't know any better. But with the cities modernizing and developing their economies and infrastructures at rapid speeds, will education and open thought be able to catch up - or will it be many more decades before we see pluralism in China?

Here is an advert I saw on the subway for a mobile phone game, and yes, those are Arab men throwing bombs.

Building Cities

Everyday I look out the window of my office and watch hundreds of ants constructing massive structure's of cement and steel and operating large yellow cranes - 17 of them on a clear day. The migrant worker is a vital part of Beijing life considering he builds everything I work, sleep, and eat in. It is estimated that the number of men wearing hard hats in Beijing amounts to the population of Philadelphia.

Most of these men want to help their families by finding higher paying jobs in the cities. I'm not sure how much training they go through to become a construction worker but it is my impression that they jump right into the mix (I suppose that's why Chinese buildings age faster than those built by professionals in the US). These men, usually living and eating in small temporary shacks on site, possess weathered faces, perpetually dirty clothing, warn-down shoes (never work boots), curious eyes, and of course the most distinguishing feature, a yellow hard hat (without that, they would just look like poor rural folk casually strolling Financial Street). Although migrant workers are putting up hundreds of buildings at once, because of their long work hours (Two 12 hour shifts sometimes) and their secluded housing, I have had very little normal interaction with them. Sometimes late at night, I'll be walking along a newly erected apartment complex and I'll run into two to three hundred of them strolling back to the canteen - and most are awed by my height considering most of them have the frame of a teenage girl.

The Hollywood true story behind these worker ants is that they are often abused by their contractors who can withhold money and cut certain national holidays short. The concept of labor unions is surprisingly making its way into places like Wal Mart (unlike the US) but it will be a long time before the migrant worker will receive these rights. One, because they are unaware that such rights should exist and two, China has nearly a billion rural workers waiting in line for a chance to make the big city salary. How much is a big city salary to them? With room and board paid for, about 1500 yuan or 200 US dollars..... every three months. Most of this money is sent home, and they continue to build, build, build.

But where they lack in intellect and modern thought, they make up for in courage and hard work. They should be admired and not looked down upon, for they are building a future for China with nothing but the break of their backs and the sweat of their brow (or something like that). When I think of the development of the American city, I always have that picture of those men sitting on the steel frame of the Empire State Building. Clearly, photography has become more advanced since then, but I challenge Chinese photographers to capture such an image that will help define this era of struggle and progress for future generations.

Even if its from a camera phone

Black Market Visa

Its that time again. Every 6 six months or so I have to go through the dilemma of prolonging my stay in China through the acquisition of a black market visa. It's not as sketchy as it sounds. Your visa and the means of getting one has always been an interesting issue among expats living here. The following is an account of a person named "I' and this person can be anybody.

When first coming to China, I was issued a tourist visa and later on was given a student visa by my university which was all gravy until I accidentally overstayed my welcome by a few days. I spent a few minutes in a small room at the airport while two immigration officers bickered over what to do with me . Just when I thought I was going to miss my flight to London, they said zou ba, get out of here - and I had to sprint to the gate.

The second time I came to China I was only given a 30 day tourist visa from the consulate in New York. I was initially upset considering that I had plans to stay the whole summer in Beijing. However, I quickly learned that they had stopped giving 3 month visas to people who had already been to China, but once in China I could extend my tourist visa twice, 30 days each time. The catch was that I needed to show proof of residence at a hotel, school, or organization when applying for each extension. At that time, I was living at my girlfriends while interning at an investment bank and tutoring English on the side. So I had to come up with a plan.

The first solution was no stay at the Friendship Hotel, a famous complex known for its historically beautiful interior courtyards and spacious units (most hotels in China are not one building but a small campus surrounded by walls). Although it was only a block from where I was living, this romantic getaway provided me with the necessary residence papers. My second extension involved going to Tianjin to receive assistance from a friend of my girlfriends who happens to own a factory. The papers where in order, my extension was granted, and we made a night of it on Tianjin's jiuba jie, bar street.

And for the past year, I have been obtaining 6 month business visa's through a local consultant that has connections with government visa offices in the more corrupt interior provinces. I pay twice as much, but without the proper paperwork, I really have no other choice. This type of black market visa has become very popular among the foreigners here and has helped many of us save an expense trip to Hong Kong or Macau, where most used to obtain new visa's or extensions.

Now, depending on my future plans, I have the option of buying a working visa next time around. This deal would be more expensive considering it would last one year and there would be no complications with a formal company (a legit working visa is tied to your company, so if you quit, your screwed). With the Olympics coming up, the visa department I'm sure will cook up new policies making it more and more difficult to extend visas and as local corruption's ugly head continues to get smashed by the central government, the black market will go further underground. However, in China, as long as there is profit in it for someone, there will always be a way. "I' is not worried.

Thanksgiving in China

This is the second year now that I have eaten Thanksgiving dinner at a Korean BBQ restuarant. This year I was simply treating two of my students while teaching them English. Last year was a bit more memorable in the sense that I was with a larger group including most of my closest friends in Beijing. There were 3 Koreans, 3 Iclelanders, and 3 Amercians. We were from all different parts of the world and had met eachother in Beijing. Korean bbq, a popular style of Korean cuisine in our corner of Beijing, involves roasting slices of pork or beef on a burner built into the table and then rolling up the cooked meat along with rice and spices in leaves of lettuce. But more importantly, bbq is more often than not accompanied by Soju, Korean rice wine. On that particular Thanksgiving night, every member of the table stood up to make a toast about what they were thankful for, and then everybody sitting at the table would ganbei, empty their shot glasses. After 9 toasts everyone was feeling quite good.

Most of these buddies of mine have already returned to their home countries for further study or a better job. So this year, my girlfriend and I decided to have a relaxing and quiet home cooked Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday night - I love her cooking. There was no turkey (a very expensive meat imported from the US) but she had cooked mashed potatoes ... made by hand. Everything was delicious and I was stuffed like one should be on Thanksgiving - but like most American traditonal holidays I've spent abroad, it lacked the essence, which I have come to realize is family.

A Civilizing Society

Whilst walking around downtown Beijing last weekend, I was approached by a volunteer from the People's University (considered Beijing's #3 school). She was conducting a survey on behalf of the government in order to collect different viewpoints from expats concerning the lack of "civilized behavior and common courtesy" in Beijing . This is a hopeful sign. Like any good rehabilitation program, admitting that you have a problem is the first step. Unfortunately, Beijing has been on step one for a long time now.

Its not like the government isn't trying either. They have blanketed the city with billboards, posters, and TV commercials advocating wenming (civility) and advising citizens on what is socially unacceptable. In the buses and subways , loud monitors endlessly play propaganda geared towards creating what they call a harmonious society. Even when I stand in front of urinals, I often practice my Chinese by reading rhymes on the wall that translate into "Its a small step forward for you, but a large step forward for civility." Every time I go into a restroom in Beijing, I feel like I have just been to the moon. However, it seems that Beijing's laobaixing, or common person is just to damn resilient. I love Beijing in so many ways but if Beijingers could improve in 3 basic areas, the quality of life and the attractiveness of this city could skyrocket up.

One, no discharging of any fluids or bodily waste in public places. This one is a no brainer and a civilization that wants to be taken seriously should not act like their pets. This means no spitting (I very very common habit among Chinese people), no loogeys, no snot rockets, no urinating, no excreting, no ejaculating (an unrepeatable story), no cutting fingernails in restaurants, no picking at ear wax, and no holding babies out so they can pee out large slits in their pants. If I was a betting man, the person that brings affordable and environmentally friendly diapers to China will become extremely rich.

Two, be courteous to your fellow citizen and respect the need for order. Please let people off the subway, bus, and elevator before getting on - everyday I get smacked, elbowed, or pushed on my way to work. I understand that Beijing is crowded and that there are many people going in all directions at once, but common courtesy is essential to sustain an enjoyable and orderly existence among millions of people. I long for the day to see people waiting in lines at the ticket counter at the Beijing railway station, not lighting cigarettes on the way up escalators at subway stations, and, god forbid, acting to help someone else. During Mao's Communist rule, the Chinese people were often condemned for helping the wrong people or put under suspicion for even expressing reasonable human compassion for the well-being of a suspected rightist. It seems that even three decades later, people are still scared to help strangers and still take part in cowardly behavior. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a beating or someone fall off their motorcycle while a crowd of curious spectators surround the scene yet fail to be of any assistance. They would sooner let a cyclist bleed to death or let a poor beggar get beaten to a pulp before intervening. Unfortunately, heroism is not a common trait obtained by those living in socially oppressive regimes that stifle individual thought and action.

Three, oh boy, how I could talk forever about this one - Road Etiquette. Here is a short list of no-nos that Chinese drivers should try to remember: Don't run through red lights, Don't turn off your headlights at night to save electricity, Don't speed down the bike lanes, Don't block the box, Don't switch lanes without signalling, Don't try passing long lines of traffic in the middle of the city, Don't honk your horn at everything you see, Don't cut other cars off, and Don't stop in the middle of the highway because of a little fender bender (I have recently learned that insurance companies need a cop to see the exact scene of the accident no write a valid report - how crazy is that) . Anybody who has been to Beijing knows that the driving skills are lacking and that the main reason for bad traffic is not because there are roughly 3.5 million drivers in the city (of course less would be bettter), but because more than half of these drivers do not abide by the rules of the road. Imagine New York, but every driver is 16 and drunk and driving an loud swirving ambulance... that's what it looks like on some streets in Beijing. The lack of driving experience (since many just started driving recently) and traffic citations (I have never seen anybody get pulled overed) in Beijing are the main reasons traffic is often at a crawl, regardless of what time of day it is. The DMV in Beijing must instate mandatory drivers Ed and the traffic police need to do more than stand in the middle of intersections, yelling at pedestrians for not yielding to cars even when they have the right of way. The whole system is a mess, and everybody knows it, but without more education and stiffer enforcement of the rules, Beijing traffic is doomed.


I am sure that if the citizens of Beijing and the forces that be focused on these 3 vital areas of "civility" before the Olympics, the whole world will be pleased to see how far China has come not just as an economy but also as a society, otherwise Beijingers will leave a lasting impression off barbarianism in the millions of visitors expected to attend in 2008.

Inflation Causes Heart-burn

It seems not long ago when I first arrived in Beijing that Heineken was only a dollar and a crosstown taxi ride was nothing but chump change - now I only drink domestic beer and I take public transportation every day. Certainly, times have changed and so have the prices.

Is China overheating? I don't think so - no yet at least. But I do believe that the Chinese economy will see more volatility in the coming year. Inflation has soared for the past 6 months at rates the new economy is not used to. The rising prices in real estate has created such a bubble and that in the event of a burst, the effects would be far more detrimental than those felt by American home-owners this past summer. The price of pork (a staple meat in China) and eggs has continued to double and then triple, creating panic among China's low-income rural population. Just this past Saturday in Chongqing, people began lining up before dawn when a Carrefour store offered a discount on large jugs of cooking oil, an essential for a lot of Chinese cooking. When the doors opened, a stampede ensued, killing 3 people and injuring 31.

As farmland continues to disappear and Ministry of Health inspectors preventing the spread of disease wipe out hundreds of thousands of pigs and chickens (blue-ear disease and bird flu), China will have to come to terms with its rising food pricing, while the government tries to curb foreign investment, hike up interest rates and buy about 1 billion dollars in in foreign currency (mostly US dollars) a day.

Rising inflation, however, already has had some effects. China's banks pay a one-year savings rate of 3.87 percent - far less than the inflation rate - and some savers have withdrawn money from banks to buy real estate and invest in the stock market, which has almost doubled so far this year, despite a major correction recently.

Personally I am not worried about the rising food prices (even though I shop at Carrefour) - I'm more concerned about the prospect that the rising mass of savings in China's economy may soon boost housing and other costs, thus setting itself up for a hard landing that would ultimately shake the world's economy like never before.

Chinese Poker

So it looks like I was right. Last week my father was visiting and this week I have started a new job. It's amazing that I even have time or energy to right this brief article. Travelling to all four corners of the city with my old man allowed me to revisit places and emotions that for some time now were but faint memories in the back of my mind - and of course I was given completely new experiences as well.

One new experience I want to recall is my third time visiting the Temple of Heaven. At this famous ancient attraction in Southern Beijing (twice the area of the Forbidden City), thousands of tourists stroll through the expansive parks, take photographs of beautiful spiral temples, try to hear their own echo when standing next to a massive circular wall, and spend around 10 seconds standing on a stone that supposedly gives you the power to directly communicate with the heavens. The history of annual animal sacrifice and the divine power exercised by China's emperors is fascinating and unsurprisingly the architecture and amount of open space is impressive, but by far the most memorable part of the Temple of Heaven is the long corridor.

At this long corridor, hundreds of elderly men and women sit on wide wooden railings on both sides of this outside corridor (some bring their own chairs) while they play cards, gossip, sing songs, play musical instruments, play Chinese chess, and sometimes get up to do a few exercises. I must have walked past a few dozen consecutive groups playing Chinese poker (a more entertaining way to play poker in my opinion). The atmosphere was simply amazing. Their is something surreal about being in the presence of hundreds of active and cheerful Chinese senior citizens when you try to imagine the crazy lives they must have lived. If they were born the same year as my Dad, they would have lived through the Japanese invasion and Nanjing massacres, a Nationalist police state, a civil war, Communist takeover, abusive anti-rightist movements, a catastrophic famine, the cultural revolution, Dengs reforms of 1979, the opening of China, the acceptance into the WTO, over a decade of double digit economic growth and soon they will witness the first Olympics ever to be held in China.

I read books and talk to those willing to story tell, but I will never fully understand what they have been through. Of those at the Temple of Heaven many were still robust and their faces were full of color, but their eyes wouldn't lie to me - they have seen the worse of China and then the best of China - and although they have been dealt terrible cards for a better half of a century, they are watching their luck, and those of their families, quickly changing.

Loads To Talk About

Being an English tutor, I am able to discuss an array of interesting topics with all types of professionals - university professors, lawyers, scientists, bankers, computer engineers. And it is through these conversations that I collect a great deal of information concerning the rationale and thought processes of those who benefited under Deng Xiaoping's reforms. Only in the last couple of decades have Chinese started feeling comfortable enough to express their own opinions about sensitive issues. Of course, I won't see any of them acting on these feelings nor openly debating them on the subway, but ever since China stopped holding denouncement sessions, labelling people as rightists, and throwing low-profile citizens under suspicion in jail or into labor camps, the people have felt a new sense of freedom.


Yesterday alone I had lively conversations about space exploration, bisexuals, snake eating, state vs. private employees, evolution vs. religion, mutual funds, and how Chinese drink alcohol.

I have already cross checked these views with other references, and this is what I've gathered: A good portion of the intellectual population questions whether the US actually landed on the moon. Homosexuality and bisexuality are considered a "mental disease" and "disgusting" and bisexuals do not possess infidelity because they play on both teams. Guangdong people will eat anything including snakes. Many parents working in state-run enterprises and institutions hope their children end up in the private sector. Chinese schools teach evolution and believe religion is a distraction to scientific discovery. Mutual funds are probably a better bet than real estate, since many predict the bubble will burst after the Olympics. And Chinese men usually only drink beer and baijiu (strong rice vodka) and they drink at a restaurant, not a bar.

These discoveries often lead to more questions and eventually a very comprehensive discussion on what is taking place in China and in the minds of the Chinese. One of the reasons I started a blog was to record and share some of these findings. I may be extremely busy in the coming weeks, but I'll try to be as diligent as possible - I have no doubt that every time I sit down in front of the computer, I will have loads to talk about.

Its All About The Maos (not Benjamins)

I have a savings account in an American bank and have been converting my income from RMB into dollars (usually on the black market) to occasionally send home and deposit. I did a few minutes of personal accounting today, and I realized that I could have made huge gains if all of my money was still in Chinese RMB. Since I arrived the exchange rate has changed from 8 RMB a dollar to 7.5 RMB a dollar - that's huge. From now on, I am putting all of my salary into the Bank of China, and putting my future into one of the world's most unstable banking systems -- yikkes!

Yao & Yi

While living in Beijing, I have had to learn to watch certain sports I wasn't grown up on. When residing outside the US in general, one should watch and know soccer (and call it football). If you want to be included in bar conversation about sports with your European friends, you need to at least know the best teams in the Premier League and follow the European Cup. But soccer aside, these last few months of tuning in on CCTV 5 (China's lame version of ESPN) have been extremely educational for me. I have watched countless volleyball matches, ping pong matches, badminton matches, weightlifting competitions, and I am sure at some point I will succumb to watching snooker.

So you can imagine my excitement now that the basketball season has started. China has a less competitive CNBA league which is not very entertaining, but NBA games are shown regularly especially those that include the Houston Rockets (Yao Ming) or the newly accepted Minneapolis Bucks (Yi Jianlian). China is simply crazy about this sport and it has been reported that around 300 million Chinese play basketball in their free time - that's the whole population of the US. So its not hard to understand why the NBA has invested millions of dollars in developing a market that may one day overtake the US. Drafting Chinese stars like Yao or Yi means big money for any franchise and so it's not uncommon to hear that someone like Phil Jackson or Joe Torre is in town - that's right, the Yankee empire is looking to East to help deliver retribution next season.

The China Miracle

Before I go on, I just want to briefly redefine the motivations behind this blog. By no means do I consider myself an expert on China or some of the issues that I discuss. I am constantly learning and reshaping my theories, so for those who regard themselves as high intellectuals and are irked whenever I misrepresent a group of people or a school of thought, please take my words as an ongoing journey through my mind as my eyes and ears discover China. I use what knowledge I have and the experiences I am given to make conclusions for myself, and that is the best I can do for now: "In the end, one only experiences one's self." -Nietzsche .

Where was I... I have been thinking about what I said yesterday concerning the possible options China and its government currently posses. Let me begin by saying the Communist Party is not a real communist government. They threw Marxism out the window when started allowing foreign investment, giving out passports freely to its citizens, and by joining the WTO. When Deng Xiaoping said "to get rich is glorious" and publicly admired the forms of government in Singapore and Hong Kong, he in essence took socialism of the pedestal and replaced it with a market economy. Leninism on the other hand is still very much a guiding philosophy that the Party strictly adheres to by maintaining strong central authority over the country, eradicating political dissidents and other "troublemakers", and of course by putting such a high premium on order and stability.

This unique situation is hard to predict but is fascinating nevertheless in how effective it has been. Living in China has really stretched me in all different directions - It is a never ending roller coaster ride as my perceptions and emotions are conflicted by China's split personalities: its old-age injustices and brutality on one side and its new found prosperity and accomplishments on the other. How do I morally balance China's personalities, how do I balance the lives of individuals to the well being of 1.3 billion, even if I was allowed to help, what exactly would I do - these are the questions and struggles that I face as I probe around China.

It is my understanding that China has two options: revolution or evolution. If the government today allowed free speech and press, exposed its mistakes, thus making clear what is delusion and what is truth, there is no doubt in my mind that people would take to the streets, the nation would experience fragmentation, and the global community would try to install quasi-democracies with popular elections as they did for Eastern Europe. It troubles me to say this because their is no justice in the world when Communist dictators preside over such an economic boom, but I do not believe democracy is good for China at this moment in history. Even an imperfect democracy is less likely to torture dissidents and obstruct basic human rights - which is very very important - and I know viewing democracy as an obstacle can be seen as heresy in America, but I think that certain developing countries require economic and social stability which is easily given by an authoritarian leadership.

By the time China creates a large middle class, who are wealthy and educated, dictatorship becomes a source of instability while democracy makes better political and economic sense. These people will yearn for more of a voice and take to the streets, and as long as the government has foresight, it will avoid chaos, and at that juncture we will see the emergence of a democratic state - not as sophisticated as America's - but one nonetheless.

Can China basically evolve into an wealthy democracy like Taiwan - although Taiwan only has 20 million people - or will China's individuals revolt too soon and bring down the empire. The Communist Party is aware of its extinction, for it is a certainty, but will they fall crashing down or gradually melt down. I now believe that the more likely scenario is a gradual peaceful evolution because its China's only chance to sustain its economic miracle while creating a political one as well.

Halloween

Happy Halloween everybody! Although, being in States during this spooky holiday is much more entertaining, I can say that every Halloween I have spent in Beijing (3 now) has been crazy fun. Luckily, the majority of American residents in Beijing are in their twenties, so every foreign bar and club in the city had some sort of costume party last weekend. While most urban Chinese are aware of this festival and understand the core concept, the rise of the dead and of all horrifying creatures, they do not know how different age groups can celebrate it.

Since no Chinese children ever went trick or treating or carved pumpkins with their families (except those few lucky ones living in suburban compounds with American families), they make no connection between Halloween and hoards of candy, haunted hay rides, jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin pie, bobbing for apples, mischief night, and Halloween horror movies. Of course, when you become too old to receive lollipops at doorsteps, you turn this night of candy into a night of cocktails, and the only night of the year when you can wear (or not wear) anything you desire.

Many guys stay with the traditional scary (ghost, vampire, devil) especially for our Chinese friends that participate - to them this type of costume is the only one that makes sense. However, ladies have used Halloween to wear more scandalous outfits ranging from strippers to schoolgirls or sexy something (sexy devil, sexy witch, sexy bunny, etc.). Then there are those other costumes that are just amusing because they are either well done (pirate, ninja, cop) or they they are original and sometimes alarming - these can include a gay cowboy, a super sperm, or Mao Zedong.

I was Mao Zedong this year. At first, I was very hesitant to wear such a costume in Beijing. This man, although one of the worse and most destructive leaders in the 20th century, is still revered by many and will remain the father of Communist China as long as his portrait hangs at Tiananmen Square and his face is printed on the currency. Many young people have nothing good to say about this man, but then again, they have nothing bad to say either. When I discuss some of his accomplishments like unifying the nation and tearing down traditional barriers for women like foot bidding and concubines, it does not even compare to outweigh the horror that occurred during Mao's control (1949-1975). While the casualties of war were at a staggering number of 22 million (WWII - 19.5 mil., Civil War - 2.5 mil., Korean - 1 mil.), the deaths caused by Mao's reforms are estimated to fall in between 50-70 million. One reform called the Great Leap Forward convinced farmers that their only purpose as a Chinese citizen was to collect steel for transforming China's industrial base - less farmers led to less food led to 30 million dead from starvation.

It is amazing how easily it is to control the Chinese society into believing a history written by the Communist government, but I suppose without these lies and false heroes, the Chinese would have already overthrown the Party, sections of the country would break off, and we wouldn't be seeing a rising China but rather a stagnant post-Soviet mess. This is another topic for another day, so just enjoy the photos.

CCTV

The new CCTV Building which will be erected in downtown Beijing before the Olympics and completed in 2009, will most undoubtedly be a modern architectural wonder not just for China but for the world. With a height of 230 meters and floor space covering 400,000 square meters combining space for administration, news, broadcasting, studios and program making, this massive building will be the second largest (in terms of floor space) in the world - only behind the Pentagon.

The biggest challenge for the engineers is the unique structural form of the CCTV headquarters. The building is formed by two leaning towers which are bent at 90 degrees at top and bottom to give the impression of a continuous tube (I am sure there is a better way to describe the form but I think the pic does the trick).

Although this amazing structure, designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaa, will become an impressive symbol of the modernity and rise of China, it has of course met some controversy by those living in Beijing. Many believe that the government, the owner of CCTV, should be spending money on more pressing matters, like healthcare and education, rather than some cool looking building. Maybe they are right - $600 million for a building does seem like a lot money for a developing nation. Secondly, city planners are under the gun. It just doesn't seem logical to put the headquarters of one of the largest companies in China smack in the middle of the CBD (central business district) - ranked among the worst traffic locations on the planet. I am aware of the new subway line being built underneath it and the new underground labyrinth connecting all the major venues in the area, but.... they better know what they are doing or else.

Regardless, they have already started construction and are nearing the point when the two towers become connected - a delicate process that must take place 6 hours before sunrise to minimize the influence the sun rays have on the maleable steel.

Unlucky Rats

Chinese people have lost faith in a Communist government. Even though they are bombarded with propaganda, like in the People's Daily and on CCTV, most people tend to ignore it. Even though nationalism is a driving force in the economy, citizens pat themselves on the back for their own successes. And many people, including myself, believe that the leaders now make policy for sustainable development while the ideals of marxism-leninism and maoism have been abandoned.

The Communist party has lost its core, its cultish following, and has focused on making money - which tends to make the country happier and healthier. But despite this new-found respect for a market economy, the Party still insists on having the power to prevent and overthrow a rebellion and will take any action necessary (even above the law) to protect national stability. In other words, China's Communist Party has transformed from a totalitarian regime, where each individual was coerced into participating in the reforms while abiding to the tenets of Maoism, to an authoritarian government, where people are left alone to pursue their own lives and lifestyles as long as their actions and words don't undermine the authority of the Party or help foster social instability.

But with socialism and maoism evaporating from the hearts of the people, the government is afraid that it will be replaced with allegiances to another faith. A religion perhaps. The Party has thrown hundreds of underground priests into prison, Xinjiang (a Western territory with a large Muslim population) has seen strong religious oppression as the government tries to flood the region with Han Chinese, and Tibetan Buddhists are losing their culture and religion fast. The Dalhi Lama fled under Mao and a new regulation was just issued stating that if monks planned on reincarnating, they must seek state approval - rebellious souls could reek havoc!

Despite the Party's efforts, religion is still growing and it will be interesting to see how it spreads in China throughout the 21st century. But for most regular citizens, there is no religion to fill that void of comfort and faith. Without organized religion or faith in the idealism of a government, the Chinese have been forced into superstitions - and follow them religiously.

For example, 4 is pronounced similarly to "death" so there are no fourth floors in China. 8 is the luckiest because it is pronounced ba, close to fa, and facai means "become rich". If you are going to a wedding, an acceptable gift amount is 999 yuan because 9 is pronounced similarly to "a long time" which is hopefully how long the couple stay together. During holidays like Spring Festival, superstitions are extremely important. For Chinese New Years on every front door the character fu, meaning prosperity, is written upside down - "upside down" is pronounced dao and is similar to the word meaning "toward" - Prosperity Will Come To You.

There are dozens of such superstitions that involve a play on words but the craziest superstition I've encountered yet has to do with the Chinese calendar. We are all aware that the Chinese have a 12 year calendar with animals for each year. I thought is was fun, like the Zodiac, to read about the personalities for each year. But I recently learned that parents purposely have children on the luckiest years (which include the rat, pig, and especially the monkey). The superstition of giving birth during one of those lucky years is so powerful, that schools are having difficulties handling the fluctuations in class size. Imagine being a teacher or school principal and having to deal with 300 third graders one year, but 500 third graders the next. I'm a rat and that is traditionally very lucky since it is the first animal of the cycle, but my fellow Chinese friends hate being rats - especially those that had just graduated with a huge class and are now struggling to find work.

China Years

Despite having a Halloween hangover, which I will explain when my brain has recuperated, I was still able to tutor two Korean girls down in Wudaokou. As I biked home from class on this unusually beautiful afternoon, I noticed that the beginning of Houbajia (the ghetto along the tracks) was being torn down. Hundreds of homes and shops were being reduced to rubble. The law requires compensation to those that had been dwelling on this plot of land recently acquired by Qinghua University, but of course its silly to think that this law is justly interpreted by the local officials.

A plot south of there had already been cleared just before I came to live in the neighborhood . Currently there is an enormous hole at this site with migrant workers operating a newly erected crane, adding to the others on the block that are putting up new research facilities and office buildings. With this expansive destruction and construction, I can't help but refer to modernity and development like an infection, as it spreads to all corners of the city. This concept is not profound, indeed, but note that while the US took 100 years to develop its cities and our grandparents tell us stories of walking in the snow up an icy road to school, China is now the fastest developing economy the world has ever seen and its parents tell stories of no indoor heating, unpaved roads and a decade of no school. Such rapid growth is unfathomable until you see it happening with your own eyes and begin to accept that the commute to work on Tuesday will look different than that on Monday.

Houbajia and its residents are retreating at warp speed, and the new cosmopolitan is growing bigger and faster every day. I once told a friend that living in Beijing is like watching a child grow, but I later retracted my comment and said it is more like watching a puppy become a dog... 1 calendar year is about 5 China years.

Chinese Getting Stronger

Just coming back from the gym, all I want to do is watch bad Chinese sitcoms and drink a chilled Coca Cola but before I do that I just want to mention a frustration of mine. I go to the gym earlier than most people so I can take advantage of the machines. Otherwise the place is congested with long waits to do certain exercises - a clear disrespect of quality control by the money-grubbing management. But even during the slow hours I have to wait because the trend in fitness is changing. 5 years ago Chinese people started getting obese and so when gyms first opened, the majority of the machines were treadmills and bikes. But as the younger crowds became more influenced by pop culture and became more self-aware of ones body and image, they learnt that a toned and athletic figure gave them sex appeal. More and more guys are becoming conscious of their narrow Asian frames and are hitting the weights.

Unfortunately, my gym is lagging in updating their layout of a few dozen treadmills and only one bench machine and one squat machine - the two most basic pieces of equipment used for weightlifting. So this corner, packed with buff Chinese men (who's elbows can't even touch) and me, use most of our time waiting for someone to finish.

Cardio workouts will always be an important part of any gym, but Chinese society is just beginning to learn the benefits of muscle building and having a more athletic body - clearly the Chinese Olympic Weightlifting gold medalists have helped inspired more gym lovers, I just hope that gyms around the country could spend more time on quality rather than the number of members.

World Trade Center - Phase III

I am obsessed with new buildings, new projects, and anything to do with infrastructure. One of the most important projects in Beijing currently underway is the construction of The World Trade Center - Phase 3. The currently operating World Trade Center, located in the heart of the CBD, encompasses a 5-star hotel, office buildings, residential housing, a shopping mall, an ice rink, and an exhibition hall. Phase 3 will even be more extravagant with another hotel, modern shopping complex, grand ballroom, and offices. When erected it will stand 300 meters or 984 feet, making it the tallest building in the city. As the Beijing skyline becomes a work in progress, this mega tower will certainly become a symbol of new Beijing. Here are a few pics that I took last month of the project:

No Business like Show Business

This afternoon, while eating my lunch, I clicked through the channels to eventually select a Chinese program about travelling around Shaanxi Province. As I began watching a Western host spout out perfect Chinese on top of some mountain, I quickly realized that it was Cao cao. Cao cao was an ancient Chinese warrior and poet during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and the name chosen by an American actor who has made his career in China. I had the pleasure to spend a weekend with this young man from L.A. when I was invited to be in a Chinese film as an extra. I already had a few commercials under my belt, one involving full body spandex, an exercise machine, machachas and techno music - it was trippy. Once, at a black and white dinner, I had to fool a whole group of investors that I was French while showing them French art in a real chateau outside Beijing - if they asked me any questions, I had to guess or lie.


But this Chinese film was a big motion picture. The director is the mom of one of my good friends from college and the lead actor was the Hong Kong star Aaron Kwok. Although I was just an extra, it was great to meet the stars and go through the whole process of costumes, makeup, and then literally waiting hours to shoot 30 seconds of film. Cao cao was pleased that my friend, Janine, and I were American since most of the time they are Russian and are just not as damn fun to talk to. Being on a movie set and meeting famous Chinese stars, including Cao Cao who has been here more than a decade, was an interesting and educational experience.

For the first location, we flew to Pingyao, an old preserved Chinese city, very useful for films taking place around the turn of the century. I was dressed up as a Chinese carriage driver working for a Catholic missionary.




The second location was in Tianjin, just south of Beijing. Janine and I barley got there because our driver kept falling asleep at the wheel as in began to snow. When we did arrive, we realized that we would be filming will a group of Russians and Kasaks (who eventually joined us in clubbing the next night). In these scenes we were all high-class imperialists walking the streets of a downtown coastal city. It was freezing, the costumes were thin and barley covered my body, and all I wanted to do was go to the bathroom... but the show must go on.






I forgot the plot, something about love, something about tradional China, making a choice between the West and the East - I am sure it will be a marvelous movie. I don't even remember the name, put I'll ask the director's son or Cao cao, and I will let you know when it will be showing at theaters near you!

Good Business

Recently, for work, I attended an education fair in Beijing with hundreds of universities all over the world represented to attract young Asian students to study in their institutions. As thousands packed this exhibition hall, I thought it would informative to check out the designated US Area. I was not surprised to see that most of these American universities were third-tier schools trying to market themselves like a business, but that the average price tag was 30,000 dollars. An American education is damn expensive for foreigners... and damn lucrative for those less prestigious schools trying to make a buck. With a price like that, how can over tens of thousands of Chinese students go abroad every year.

First of all, lets look at some rough statistics comparing the US and China. The US has a population of 300 million while China has the population of 1.3 billion. The US has 4000 schools of higher education, China has 1500. Of the 5.3 million Chinese that took the gaokao (like SAT)last year, 2.7 million (52%) attended college. Of the the 2.3 million Americans that took the SAT last year, 1.6 million (70%) attended college. Our market for education is so expansive that most Americans don't worry about getting into a college but which college to get into. In China, getting in in itself is a stressful and difficult journey. So China limits college to only those students top in their class.

So, as most poor rural students study their hearts out to fight for their only chance for a better life, an expanding class of comfortable urban students are hitting the books less and spend as much time as they can on the basketball court or in the Internet cafe. These children don't see how imperative education is because they have a relatively high quality of life already, and its more fun to play with friends, play sports, or join a band. And since extracurricular activities are not part of college applications in China, just test scores and marks, most of these children are going to find it difficult to get into Chinese college. But if your daddy makes a decent paycheck, he will take his child to the international college fair, hire consultants like myself, and send him to get a degree at a school in the US (more likely Canada, UK, or Australia). Its a win-win -win situation and as long as the economic boom keeps rolling more and more parents will do this.

Why now - why is this market suddenly exploding?

One, like I already mentioned, as the society gets richer, the students get lazier or more likely they get more modern, social, artistic, athletic, and overall rounded (but not as good at taking exams).

Two, with Dengs reforms came English classes. A small village in Gansu Province may not have electricity, but they have an English teacher. It is mandated by the state that all students in China start learning English by 6th grade, and some schools in Beijing have even started at 2nd grade. The importance given to English has created a generation of English speakers, most are horrific, but those who are not have a chance to broaden their horizons by going abroad. The English classes are getting better and China sees the need to communicate to the world being a member of the WTO while hosting special events like the Olympics next year. Taxi English is priceless since their only sentences may include "Beijing pollution is normally not this bad."

Three, with reform came population control, came the one-child policy. Chinese parents are getting richer because they only have one child, and these little emperors will then receive the best of the best. Their lives are scheduled around their children, and if their pampered child's grades don't surpass those of the fighting farm girl, give them an envious American education that can be easily bought.

These comfortable city single children are just starting to graduate high school and their parents see no choice but to pay for an overseas education, America has many colleges, China has many students, that's just good business.