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.