Clean Streets or Freedom of Speech?

FINALLY! At last I have managed to penetrate the "Great Firewall" that China has erected to censor information that may "pollute the minds of the people". Blogspot has recently been blocked, forcing me to download a program which uses a proxy server outside of China while simultaneously masking my IP address. Actually I don't understand what this program does, but for the first time in two weeks I am able to update. I wrote the post below about ten days ago, but it is still relevant. I hope to resume my weekly posting schedule, unless someone in the Chinese government internet police reads this and cuts me off from the net completely . . .

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Clean, orderly, busy, polite. Words that come to mind when attempting to describe my impression of China thus far. It is difficult to give an objective summary of China because I am constantly comparing it to India. If I had visited China first, I have no doubt that a different list of words would have come to mind. Compared to India, China is infinitely clean and orderly: there is no litter on the streets, the traffic actually obeys rules, and farm animals don't roam the city unattended. The buses and trains are irrationally punctual (to the minute) and people actually seem to respect lines in public places, rather than the Indian custom of elbowing one's way to the front of any would-be line. Despite these reassuring norms, traveling here is more difficult than in India for one simple reason – if you don't speak Chinese, communication is nearly impossible. I've been lucky enough to have Chinese speakers with me nearly every day, but I had a really difficult time trying to find Jess' apartment in Kunming without a handy Chinese speaking accomplice. After several sessions of charades and me butchering the Chinese pronunciation of some key words, a taxi driver finally delivered me to Jessica's apartment, which is more aptly described as a penthouse due to its luxuriousness and spaciousness).

Besides the order, cleanliness, and lack of English, the most striking feature of China to me is the ubiquitous marketing and consumerism on every corner. Communist China? Hardly. China is communist in name only. Kunming, a city of 5-6 million, has a Louis Vutton and a Versace retail store. The streets are full of luxury cars which would make any American jealous. Health care isn't even free for Chinese citizens, which to me is the bare minimum requirement for a nation to be considered even mildly socialist. The only aspect of the socio-political system in China which sets it apart from the US or other industrialized Western nations is the complete lack of political freedom. The atmosphere is not as repressive as I expected; crossing the border was a breeze, the police seem indifferent to foreigners, and book stores carry some fairly controversial titles. Of course any vocal criticism of the government can and will be met with swift and severe action. I tried to broach this subject with the students I worked with in Yangshuo and they all denied having any complaints about their government. This apparent unquestioning acceptance of authority is difficult for me to comprehend. Having been raised in a culture and a household that prides itself on questioning authority, I find it difficult to relate to people who accept authoritarian rule of their lives, restrictions on their access to information, and limitations to their participation in the political process. I realize that I may never be able to relate to the average Chinese citizen because their behavior and beliefs are the product of a completely different cultural system which is the result of 6,000 of history and philosophy of which I am wholly ignorant. I have only seen a very limited slice of this vast country, so I look forward to learning more and gaining some insight into the Chinese mindset over the coming weeks – all of which will be shared with you on this blog, of course.

It has been indescribably comforting to be back with Jess again after our second three and a half month separation; we have been spending the last few days catching up, relaxing, and enjoying Kunming's culinary offerings. We have only begun to plan out our Chinese and Kyrgyz itinerary for the next two months. My next post will be from Beijing! If there is a next post . . .