Zhongnanhai

China’s rural areas are falling behind; The economic boom in the cities isn’t being heard in the countryside
Times Colonist (Victoria)
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Page: D2
Section: Comment
Byline: Cam MacMurchy
Column: Cam MacMurchy
Source: Special to Times Colonist

My cab driver pulled up to Beijing West Railway Station around 4 p.m. I put my luggage through security and began looking around for a waiting lounge prior to my 4:30 departure to a city I had never even heard of. My ticket said Beijing to Gucheng, which is a small town in Hubei province in central China. It’s also known as the middle of nowhere.

Gucheng is definitely remote, but my final destination would take me one step further. To get there, I would have to take a 40-minute van ride from Gucheng’s train station to the even more remote village of Wushan.

We arrived in Gucheng the following day. I hauled my luggage down a couple of stairs and waited as the train pulled away. I crossed the rickety tracks and stepped over broken concrete before I walked through a deformed gate and out onto the street. The Gucheng train station doesn’t even have an arrivals area. It was as though the train stopped by the street and passengers quickly piled into vans or walked away.

Wushan, unfortunately, is much too small for a hotel. The village has a little over 1,000 residents, most of whom survive on about $275 a year. Our sleeping quarters, shared with a small group of journalists from Beijing, would be in a government guesthouse.

Foreign media attention often focuses on the thriving nightlife and business opportunities in Shanghai, the glittering skyscrapers in Guangzhou or the political power being amassed in Beijing.

The transformation of China’s east-coast cities is vast, and undoubtedly residents are enjoying drastic improvements in their living standards.

But despite these feel-good stories, the countryside is being left behind — way behind.

We met with Communist party cadres in Wushan, who explained that though medical insurance for villagers is only $1.50 per year, even paying that fee could sometimes prove difficult for the poverty-ridden villagers. The insurance covers about 60 per cent of their medical expenses, meaning the rest of the money for treatment has to be paid by the patient.

It was explained to me that a simple operation could still consume a lifetime’s savings. The irony of villagers being forced to pay exorbitant medical fees in a supposedly communist country didn’t go unnoticed.

I walked through the beautiful streets of Wushan, flanked on all sides by lush greenery with a small stream going through the village centre. I stepped into a couple of rural homes, some which didn’t even have four walls.

As the sun was setting I stuck my head into what seemed like a vacant house; inside a man was sitting on his couch in the dark. He didn’t have any electricity and lived in a concrete room with a large door open to the elements. About 750 million people in China — roughly 70 per cent of its population — live in conditions like this, or close to them.

Fortunately, we weren’t in Wushan just to observe peasant life. We were actually there for a good news story, one which we might hear a lot more about in the future.

The Beijing Green Cross (a Chinese non-governmental organization not affiliated with the international one), led by Sun Jun, went into Wushan about three years ago to turn the formerly dirty village into an environmentally friendly tourist spot. At the time, litter was strewn in the streams and garbage was everywhere.

"We have to learn to take care of our environment," said Sun. "We can not be a developed country if we don’t take care of our surroundings." And somehow he has been able to convince the villagers to buy into it.

Wushan now has solar-powered street lights, new environmentally friendly irrigation systems and compost piles.

Villagers have been planting trees and divide their garbage into categories ready for recycling. A town square has been built, where we were treated to dance and musical performances by some of the children.

It has also taken one of its core industries — 100-per-cent organic green tea — and is using it to build the town’s tea culture.

There is now a tea temple, and the tea ceremonies held there are becoming famous in the area. The result of all this, combined with the region’s stunning landscape, has been more visitors and higher incomes for residents, not to mention a new-found pride in their village.

Our group stayed in a renovated government house that night. Although the village is now environmentally friendly, it remains very poor. We were fed the same food four meals in a row— beans, tomato and egg soup, fatty pork, roast pumpkin, chicken soup and a few other dishes.

The sleeping arrangements were comfortable, although I spent most of my night swatting at flies and mosquitoes.

One of the biggest challenges facing China — if not the biggest — is improving the incomes and living conditions for rural residents. President Hu Jintao has been clear that narrowing the widening income gap between rural and urban workers is his priority. If he fails to do so, it could lead to further unrest and threaten the party’s hold on power.

A quick trip to rural China shows that there is a long way to go. But through efforts like those of Sun Jun, there is reason for optimism.

Cam MacMurchy is a Victoria journalist working in China.

cam.macmurchy@gmail.com

Idnumber: 200706240027
Edition: Final
Story Type: Column
Length: 891 words

Two items to pass along this afternoon.

I was surprised and a little bemused to see a notice going out in this week’s That’s Beijing weekly newsletter.  Under the June 22 events column, I found this:

» Quebec National Day
Come celebrate Quebec’s National Day with The Bookworm. RMB 120 includes buffet and three drinks (free for kids under 12). For tickets, contact Denise at 139 1011 9354.
6pm. The Bookworm (6586 9507)

Yes, I know this is a private event.  And as a Canadian, I don’t much care if there are Quebec Nationalist events in China, Canada, or anywhere else (we are much more secure about these things).  But I still found the event humerous, considering China’s track record with others who give the slightest hint of dealing with or referring to Taiwan as a nation.  

Obviously the Bookworm is a private business, and is not a reflection of the government.  But the next time some private group/company/organization decides to Honor the Dalai Lama or Chen Shui-bian or whatever or whomever else, we should remember this event in the heart of Beijing. (I am tempted to say this event "hurts the feelings of the Canadian people.")

And for a laugh, well, if you’re not Peruvian, check out this story.  It appears Cameron Diaz has landed in hot water for wearing one of those Mao bags emblazoned with the red star that we see in all the tourist markets in China.

While the bags are marketed as trendy fashion accessories in some world capitals, the phrase has particular resonance in Peru.

The Maoist Shining Path insurgency took Peru to the edge of chaos in the 1980s and early 1990s with a campaign of massacres, assassinations and bombings.

Nearly 70,000 people were killed during the insurgency.

A prominent Peruvian human rights activist said the star of There’s Something About Mary should have been a little more aware of local sensitivities when picking her accessories.

I’m wondering, now that superstar Cameron Diaz has been spotted sporting the Mao bag, if I should buy a bunch of these and begin peddling them on eBay. 

I have already staked out my claim on the 2008 presidential election, and perhaps I was the earliest guy to do so. That being said, other factors can shake up the race, and we are getting lots of other factors.  Over the past couple of weeks Fred Thompson has emerged as a possible front-runner for the Republicans, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has just pulled out of the Republican party amid speculation he will run as an independent. Despite all this, New York Times editorial board describes the ‘08 race this way:

Mr. Bloomberg’s announcement that he is getting out of the G.O.P. but not getting into the race, certainly brought some fresh air into the longest and already most airless presidential campaign in memory.

Really?  For the first time in history, a black man (okay, he’s not totally "authentic" black, which is the buzzword in the US media at the moment) has a realistic shot at becoming President.  Likewise, Hillary Clinton has a legitimate chance of breaking the gender barrier and becoming the country’s first woman President. Either one of those two storylines are great, and this year we have both!  Not to mention the candidates on the Republican side: an actor-cum-senator Fred Thompson shaking up the race, America’s Mayor Rudy Giuliani, formerly-popular maverick Senator John McCain, a Mormon candidate (Mitt Romney) and now a potential respectable and formidable third-party candidate.  This is hardly what I would describe as an "airless campaign." What more does the Old Grey Lady expect? 

Anyway, I am just leaving the office, so don’t have a lot of time to expand on this (although I certainly have lots to add!). Below are a few links you might want to check out, with a focus on Bloomberg’s decision to bolt the Republican party and speculation on his next move.

• Some say Bloomberg has been preparing this bid for nearly two years, and has been studying Ross Perot’s third-party run from 1992. He doesn’t want to simply be a spoiler.
• Needless to say, his decision hasn’t made his predecessor, Rudi Giuliani, too happy.
• The Boston Globe isn’t too confident of Bloomberg, or any person who decides to run as an independent.
• And finally, if there is one MUST READ for politicos, it’s The Note by ABC News.  My former media relations boss (one of the smartest men I’ve ever met) turned me on to this, and it’s a must for those serious about US politics. Many of the links I’ve listed here are courtesy of the Note.

So there I was, in a taxi with one of my colleagues. We were discussing the merits of Beijing and Shanghai, something of which I touched on earlier but hope to explore more fully in the future.  He said he loves Beijing, and wants to live in Shanghai following the Olympics because he loves it there, too.  "Have you been to Guangzhou?" I asked.  "No. I have no desire to go there.  It’s unsafe," was the reply. It’s a common answer.

The thing is, everybody knows about Beijing and Shanghai, and the third member of the "big Chinese city" clique seems to always get left out: Guangzhou.

Ever since I arrived in Beijing I tend to ask if people have been there.  "No" is the usual response.  That’s usually followed by horror stories of wallets and bags being stolen, people being cut with knives, and general violence. There are then some digs at the Cantonese and Cantonese language, and their perceived poor ability in Putonghua. Odd that such descriptions come from people who have never been there.

Just before I made the move south, my old boss at China Radio International, Xu Huazhen, regaled me with horror stories about Guangzhou.  I was excited to be moving onto a new job, and I ran into her in the hallway.  

 "Have you ever been to Guangzhou?" I asked.

"Yes… it’s awful!  They eat such strange things down there, they are dirty, and it’s very unsafe.  You won’t like it at all."

I must admit I can’t remember her exact words, but they are very close to the ones I’ve written above, and exact in spirit. Nonetheless, these weren’t exactly the reassuring words I was looking for ahead of my big move.

I’m not sure how such a vile image of Guangzhou came about.  What I do know, is that these stereotypes of different regions in China are just as strong, no matter which region you’re talking about.  Engage a Bejinger about Shanghai, or vice versa, and you will hear a torrent of criticisms and generalizations about the other.  Guangzhou people are no different. Anyone outside of Guangdong, I was told, is referred to as a laobi, or butlau, in Cantonese.  And the people in Dongbei are apparently the worst and most uncivilized.

Anyway, I could yammer on all day about stereotypes, but the point of this post is to give a much needed defense to one of China’s great historic cities, a cultural mecca, China’s wealthiest city, and my former home: Guangzhou.

First, some admissions: Guangzhou is probably slightly more dangerous than other places.  I base this on one fact: even people in Guangzhou told me so.  During my time in Guangzhou, I witnessed one purse-snatching. In Beijing or Shanghai, I saw zero. Although some of my friends had their cell phones and digital cameras stolen (both in Beijing). On personal account, Guangzhou doesn’t seem any more or less dangerous. That being said, maybe avoid the San Yuan Li area if you can. Guangzhou residents tell me the crime is largely committed by migrants from nearby Hunan.

Now that that’s out of the way, here are the other things I experenced:

• Superb southern charm - like elsewhere in China, the Cantonese people are proud of their heritage and are keen to help others and welcome them to their community.
• A rich history - Mao himself taught at a school in Guangzhou.  It was China’s trading gateway for nearly 100 years during the Qing dynasty when all the other ports were closed.  It has a strong western influence.
• Weather - tropical.  Need I say more? Pollution not nearly as bad as Beijing, nor as dry. Sunshine, palm trees, and lots of outdoor swimming pools were the order of the day. I had to turn off my air conditioner in December and January. It dipped down to around 10 degrees in those months.
• Scenery - The banks of the mighty Pearl River have been revitalized. Each night visitors are treated to a laser-light show complete with music accompaniment (a ripoff from Hong Kong, I know). The water has also been cleaned up, and there’s hardly any debris or litter that remains.  The Mayor of Guangzhou swam across the river last summer to prove its cleanliness (a bit of a stretch, I admit).
• City planning - Unlike Beijing, where historic buildings are being torn down to make way for the new and modern, Guangzhou is keeping its heritage.  The colonial buildings along the Pearl River and the beautiful European architecture on Shamian Island are tributes to the city’s past. New business areas, instead of being built on top of these iconic spots, are being moved to either Tianhe or Pearl River New City.
• Cantonese language - I must admit, after living in Beijing previously, I was adverse to trying to learn a new language.  Those that speak both (and I admit, people that speak both are heavily Cantonese) claim Cantonese is much richer in substance and more pleasing to the ear. Since moving to Shanghai, and now Beijing, when I hear someone speaking Cantonese it brings back warm memories.
• Practical people - The Cantonese aren’t concerned with politics, and while "saving face" is important all over China, it seems less-so in the south. They get things done, seem to be more efficient, and are more open (possibly due to its location near Hong Kong).
• Geographical location - Okay, I know in Shanghai I could visit Hangzhou and Nanjing.  I know there are other places.  Beijing?  Perhaps Tianjin?  What else is up here? In Guangzhou, it was, at most, 2 hours to some of the country’s great cities or up-and-coming tourist destinations. Shenzhen, Dongguan, Zhuhai, Macao, and Hong Kong. I’ve omitted the smaller cities, but let’s just say I visited some beautiful beach resorts, hot springs, and tropical locales only an hour outside of Guangzhou.
• Cantonese culture - which is a lot different from northern Chinese culture. During Chinese New Year, I must have received 60 red envelopes filled with money. Their eating customs are different, too: When we ate hot pot, they were disgusted that I put my chopsticks into the broth. They explained that the practise was dirty and could spread germs (obviously), and that nobody does that in Canton.  They use the spoon to dig out the bounty - ALL the time.

Do they eat weird things in Guangzhou?  Sure.  But I didn’t eat anything too strange when I was there (except for a frog’s ovaries, but that’s for another post). The rural residents in Guangdong insist on eating civit cats, peacocks, and other animals. But they are looked down upon by the sophisticated city-folk.

The bottom line is Guangzhou is not one giant horror story.  It’s one of China’s great cities (much older and more cultured than Shanghai, Shenzhen, or Hong Kong, for example). It is the heart of Cantonese culture, a culture which has spread its wings around the entire globe. It also lies in the heart of China’s wealthiest province, also known as the workshop of the world.

I wrote an article in the Times Colonist a while back that talked about how south China is the most exciting region in the country.  Even after having lived in Shanghai and returned to Beijing, which is preparing for the Olympics, I can’t be more sure of what I wrote. 

Just a quick update this morning, as I rush around trying to pick up luggage from Shanghai.

• I went to the small village of Wushan, Hubei Province last week.  The village has turned itself into an eco-village led by the Beijing Green Cross. The transformation in the village has been astounding (I saw the "before" and "after" photos) and I will write at length about it shortly.  New irrigation systems have been put into place, the villagers now sort their garbage and recycle, and all the street lights are solar-powered. The village has been so successful that the program is being expanded into four new villages.
• I did another radio interview this morning on CKNW AM 980 in Vancouver, and broadcast around British Columbia on the Corus Radio Network.  It was a wide-ranging interview with more focus on June 4 (which, as I said earlier, seems to be a pre-occupation among journalists in western countries). It was nearly 30 minutes in length and even included some critical callers.  You can find the interview here, shortly after the newscast at the top of the hour.
• Courtesy of the China Law Blog comes this article in the Seattle Times about the delicious Chinese food in Vancouver.  As my hometown is Vancouver, I couldn’t be more proud of the variety of cuisine there, Chinese and otherwise.
• And finally, imagine Rosie O’Donnell as host of the Price is Right.

I’ve lived in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.  I’ve spent copious amounts of time in Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao.  I’ve hit all the main tourist places in China… Hangzhou, Xi’an, Guilin, Dongguan, Zhuhai, etc.  But one place I’ve never been is the countryside.

Guilin is probably the closest I got.  I caught the bus from Guilin to Yangshuo, a tourist mecca in its own right. But the bus wound through sparse roads and crumbling homes en route to the trendy West Street.  Sure, I saw chickens running across the street, and things like that.  It was rural, but not as rural as where I’m off to this afternoon.

I am heading out to a small village called Wushan in Hubei province.  It’s apparently got electricity, which is good.  Not so sure on the running water part.  And I’ve seen photos of the bathrooms in Wushan — let’s just say it must be cold in the winter, and hopefully it doesn’t rain much.  There are no hotels in the village, so I will be staying at a government guest house.

I’m looking forward to it, yet also thankful it’s only for two nights.  I’ll post a full report when I return. 

A huge hat-tip to Danwei for this article on a controversy in Salt Lake City. As I was reading through it, I couldn’t believe this wasn’t a satire of some kind. There are so many angles to this story.

The premise is this: Real Salt Lake hosted China in a football friendly at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Considering the game was in the United States, it could be expected that the fans cheered for the home team, and they didn’t disappoint. That wasn’t the problem — the problem was the taunts given to the Chinese side. Did they hurl racial epithets? Make faces with squinty eyes? No. Their crime was to wave the flags of Tibet and Taiwan.

Coker said he and several others, including five Tibetan men, were escorted out of the University of Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium by about 10 officials, including stadium personnel and Real Salt Lake representatives, because they had been waving Tibetan flags and had refused to put them away when the officials told them to do so.

The controversy began shortly after halftime, when Chinese players complained about fans displaying Taiwanese and Tibetan flags and a sign that said "6-4," written in Chinese. That sign referred to June 4, 1989, the date of the Chinese government’s attack on protesters in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Members of the Chinese National Team stepped off the field and refused to continue playing unless the flags were put away.

Now, clearly waving the Tibet and Taiwan flags would not be appreciated by the Chinese players. Although I’m sure chants of Osama in Mexico City a few years ago didn’t impress the American side, either. Unlike Tibet and Taiwan, 9/11 happened only a few years ago and left a deep scar on the American psyche.  It has directly lead to two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Thousands of Americans are dying overseas. Many people lost loved ones in Washington, Pennsylvania, and New York that day.  I would argue most Americans have been personally touched by 9/11 in some way, whether they lost someone in the attacks, lost a family member or friend in the wars, or has seen someone head off to Iraq or Afghanistan. As such, I would argue that the wounds from 9/11 go much deeper to today’s generation of Americans than the plight of Tibet does to today’s generation of Chinese.

Despite this, fans in Mexico city chanted "Osama! Osama!" to throw off the American players and score political points. One American player summed up his experience in the game this way.

"Since Mexico won convincingly, every fan walked out cheering," U.S. goalkeeper D.J. Countess said Wednesday after training. "I’ve been hit with bags of urine, limes and batteries. There even was a dead chicken thrown on the field next to me in El Salvador, but since Mexico got the result they wanted, there wasn’t much of that.

"I’m sure if we would have won the game, there would have been a lot of stuff thrown at us and a lot of chants."

Dead chickens? Being pelted with batteries? The Americans played through it regardless, even though there were threats against their personal safety. The Chinese can’t bear seeing a flag they consider offensive. Draw your own conclusions.

Sports is about having fun, and generally shouldn’t be political. That being said, fans will be fans. I’m a big Vancouver Canucks fan, and their playoff drive this spring saw them go through the Dallas Stars and struggling goaltender Marty Turco. Game in and game out, fans chanted "Turco Sucks!" I couldn’t image how hearing 18,000 fans, chanting in unison that you suck, could make a player feel. Nonetheless, he played his heart out, was terrific, and was arguably Dallas’ best player in the series. In other words, he was mature about it.

I don’t totally object to taking things to a political level either, as long as it’s done with respect. No burning flags, no burning effigies, no racial epithets. Waving a Tibet flag, while it carries inferences of "Tibetan Independence" does not necessarily mean so. It’s a fairly benign way to make a point. Likewise with Taiwan, which has a flag that is flown in Olympic ceremonies and in places all over the world. Perhaps references to 6-4 were a little over the top, but I still err on the side of free speech. At the end of the day, the game was in America, and if you can’t make political points there without fear of repercussion, where can you?

I can understand why the government and players objected to having these banners and flags flown while they played. Just like I understand why goalkeeper D.J. Countess didn’t like being pelted with batteries, or why Marty Turco didn’t like being told repeatedly he sucked. But I can’t help but think that this is life, and this is sports — grow up, and get over it. I’m still waiting for an official Chinese government spokesperson to say that the flags "hurt the feelings of the Chinese people", a phrase that turns supposedly thinking, mature adults into defenseless children. It’s a sorry state of affairs when the world’s apparent future superpower won’t even play football because it’s offended by some piddly flags.

Regardless of the political implications, many fans admitted they were just trying to throw the team off.

Fitzgerald said the fans who were ejected weren’t really interested in protesting China’s politics and instead just wanted to harass and disrupt the Chinese team. He said other fans have frequently complained about those particular fans’ use of profanity and sexually explicit language and props during previous games.

Again, trying to distract the opposition is perfectly normal. Just watch an opposing player try and throw a free throw in the NBA.

Despite Fitzgerald’s reasons for being there, others were definitely trying to make a political point, and feel their rights were infringed upon — and rightly so.

Coker admits that he displayed the flag partly to distract and annoy the visiting team, but he said it was mostly a "form of expression about the plight of the people of Tibet."

"I’m going to be contacting the ACLU, and I’m going to pursue it," he said. "I want to hold people accountable if they broke the law, because I know I didn’t."

Ironically, the flags flown by Tibetans, Taiwanese, and other concerned Americans was nearly a direct result of China’s control of information within the P.R.C. When people can’t make these points directly to the Chinese government, they spill out in sporting events and other activities. If China was to allow free debate and discussion on things like Tibet and Taiwan, or engage with those critical of it, perhaps there would be no need to use this kind of an event to score political points. I highly doubt people would be carrying banners saying "6-4" if the Chinese government had already given a full vetting of the event.

At some point the Chinese government and people will have to come to terms with its sometimes brutal and controversial past.  The longer things like June 4th are ignored, the more they will crop up in events like this.  Keeping the people shielded from opinions and events that might be uncomfortable may work inside the P.R.C. for the time being, but it will spill out in other places, like this week’s football match. And it’s going to spill out a lot more frequently in the years to come.

This also boils down to the players, management, and owners of China’s football team.  Were they really so offended that they couldn’t play?  Was seeing a Tibetan flag so offensive and utterly disgusting that they were prepared to walk off the field?  Is this the mindset of the Chinese people?  And if so, the rest of the world is scared about what, exactly? 

__________________ 

Notes:

• Video from the game, including shots of the forbidden flags, can be found here.
• A fan, who was at the game and waved an ROC flag, blogged about his experience getting kicked out of the stadium here.

I’ve definitely had bad luck when looking for apartments in Beijing. I moved to the city in 2004 when a number of new buildings opened catering to foreigners, such as Lan Bao and Sunshine 100, both near the Dawanglu Subway station in the Central Business District. At the time, my good friend and CCTV 9 news anchor James Aitken took a place in Lan Bao for 4000 RMB per month — it was a tiny, albeit new, bachelor suite. I paid 4500 a month for a bachelor in Sunshine 100, although the bed was in a room slightly separate from the living room.

We both watched as rents plummeted in the following year. I renegotiated my contract after a year, and got the rent lowered to 4000. Shortly thereafter, friends were finding beautiful new 2 bedroom places for 4000 or even less. But how times have changed.

Coming from Shanghai, I figured everything here must be cheaper. I had a 23rd floor (the top) 2 bedroom suite near People’s Square. It was 144 square meters. The view from my patio and bedroom window was to die for - an unobstructed panorama of Shanghai’s skyline. Not to mention it was a 5 minute walk to the Xinzha Road subway station. For this, I paid 6000 a month. Surely I can get something in Beijing for cheaper?

Not so. I mean, sure, if I wanted to live outside of the third ring road. My office is on Chaoyangmenwai, and after catching Beijing’s rickety and smelly subway from Dawanglu to Babaoshan (CRI) and the Military Museum (CCTV) I realized I want no part of it for my second tour in Beijing. I want to live within walking, biking, or a very short subway ride to work. But that also means higher rents.

Apartments quite far south of Jianguomen are going for 4500 - simple one bedrooms, and the one I saw didn’t even have a TV. Pretty much everything half-decent inside the third ring starts at 5000. What happened? Sure, people tell me, I’m being quoted the laowai price, even though my girlfriend has been doing everything, and she’s Chinese. I’ve also bargained with a few — I found a decent two bedroom loft for 5000 at Dongsishitiao. The furniture was old and sparse, the bathrooms and kitchen were falling apart. And it was a 6-floor upstairs hike to get to the front door. The building, although I’m told it’s new, looks like it serves as a dorm for migrant workers from Hebei. The best part was it had an upstairs loft and a big patio, although the architects, in their infinite wisdom, surrounded the thing with a 3-meter high concrete wall. We couldn’t see anything, other than the odd star in the sky, which is a once-a-year occurance in Beijing. Anyway, they lowered the price down to 4500 for me, but I still had to think about it.  Is this the best I’m gonna get?

Part of the issue is I’ve decided to study Chinese full-time, and work part-time, so I planned a reduction in my living standards already. But I didn’t plan this drastic of one.

Finally this morning, I found my new home. I’m paying way more than I wanted, but such is life in the new Beijing. I’ll be living in Xingfu Er Cun, a mere 5 minute walk north of Gongti’s north gate. It’s an awesome location. A 5th floor, two bedroom suite. No elevator, which is no big deal. It has white carpets in the living room and bedroom, which is uncommon in China to say the least. The bottom line is it feels like a home, and it’s well decorated. For this, I will pay 5200 RMB per month - about 1200 more then I originally budgeted.

Last night I sat on the rooftop at Kokomo in Sanlitun and paid 45 kuai for drinks, something that was not so common in Beijing even two years ago. I’m not a cheap-skate by any measure (just look at my bank account) but I’ve realized the frontier, bohemian, cheap party that Beijing used to be is quickly evaporating.  In a way, it’s sad, but also inevitable. 

I’m not sure how Chinese teachers make it here anymore. Beijing has a long way to go before it’s as expensive as Tokyo or Hong Kong (my favorite city), but it’s certainly on its way. 

I never thought I would miss Shanghai because it’s cheaper. 

This is a letter that was published in Wednesday’s edition of the National Post.  It is a follow-up of a column that was published on Monday to coincide with the June 4th anniversary.  I think the letter writer raises some good points.

Tiananmen no concern of a ‘capitalistic’ China
National Post
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Page: A15
Section: Letters
Byline: Petros Dratsidis
Source: National Post

Re: Chinese amnesia, Cam MacMurchy, June 4.

With all due respect to Cam MacMurchy, the so-called Tiananmen Square Massacre is not a major anniversary in Chinese history. We are talking about a nation with a 5,000-year history, a nation whose population is one-fifth of humanity, an emerging and ambitious superpower. What happened in early June, 1989, in Beijing is merely an episode in history caused by misguided and impressionable students, an episode equivalent to the 1968 riots in Paris or the student unrest in North American universities between 1968 and 1972, but far smaller in scale.

Talk about amnesias: Should the French commemorate the anarchy on their streets some 40 years ago? Should the U.S. president lay a wreath every May 4 to commemorate the killing of the four students at Kent State University in 1970?

I have just returned from China, and I can assure you that the epithet "communist" does not fit China today. There are no pictures of Mao glancing admonishingly from billboards — except the one overlooking Tiananmen Square, where his mausoleum is. The police on the streets are almost invisible, and owning private property is encouraged, as is opening a private business. Western music is everywhere, Shanghai’s stock market is booming and China is full of "capitalistic" energy, in fact, too much of it.

If we must give a name to the Chinese system of government, then a correct name would be centralized democracy. Foreign investment agrees with this assessment, and is pouring into China at rates never seen before in history.

David Brady, deputy director of the Hoover Institute of Stanford University, recently said: "The normal pattern is for at least two parties to alternate in power … but I wouldn’t say that has to be China’s way. I am not smart enough to tell what China should do."

The same should apply to Mr. MacMurchy. Is he, a freelance journalist, knowledgeable enough to tell the Chinese people how to conduct their affairs?

Petros Dratsidis, Toronto.

Petros makes some good points about other movements that have been crushed by the government or law enforcement officials, especially the one at Kent State in the United States (although that was 4 people to an estimated 3,000 in Beijing).

Governments, including the Chinese one, should never feel obligated to remember those who died challenging their authority. However individuals — the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins of the victims — should be able to remember what happened, publicly, if they so choose. 

People in Paris can read about the riots of 1968, and lay a wreath if they like.  People in America can read about what happened at Kent State or watch a documentary on the subject.

Unfortunately, when it comes to June 4, 1989, people in China aren’t so lucky. 

It’s nice to see Canada having a bit more flair. Yesterday, current Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper decided to decline a meeting with U2 star Bono.

"I’ve got to say that meeting celebrities isn’t kind of my shtick, that was the shtick of the previous guy," said Harper in a dig at his Liberal predecessor Paul Martin, who met Bono regularly.

"I hope we do it at some point but my principle focus in public policies is not kind of to meet celebrities," added the prime minister, a Conservative.

The Reuters story says Bono has met with George W. Bush and Angela Merkl already, but Harper says he’s too busy to meet the star. 

While relieving debt to African nations is a laudable goal, it’s nice to come across a politician who is more concerned with actual politics instead of photo-ops with celebrities.