Knock on wood

    If there was ever going to be a day for the government to deport me, it may be today. Although, knock on wood, I’ll say it’s unlikely. As my friends and family found out this summer that I’m on my way to China, the overwhelming majority of the feedback consisted of cautionary tales and suggestions. Their concerns didn’t surround my health, diet, living accommodations or urban crime woes. Cue O Fortuna, Uncle Mao is out to get you (and this time, it’s personal). My dad went as far as to say, “You just don’t know communism.” Meaning, you’d be afraid if you knew better.

“You’re saying the government is lying to us, right?” is the semi-question from a student that made me think the sentence with which this blog post opens. A colleague asked me to speak to his class about the western tenets of journalism, covering objectivism, advocacy journalism, media conglomerates, state versus corporate ownership, etc. 

I finished a comment on the political implications of public accessibility to only one news source and heard someone murmuring the translation in Chinese to his classmates. I tuned in and in the absence of my voice, he spoke louder. Of his last couple sentences, I deciphered, “...... China.... Chinese government... China.”

That’s not what I said. I talked about how indiscriminate criticism by a variety of organizations, from NPR to the New York Times to NBC, all contributed to giving the news credibility. There was no mention of China. 

I asked, “What was the last thing you said?”

“You’re saying the government is lying to us, right?” he said with a ‘Who, me?’ expression.

I was irked. I didn't state the implications as facts, like he had relayed. 

“No,” I said. “I’m asking, how can you know one way or the other?”

“We can trust the government.”

“Why do you trust the government? Isn’t trust earned?”

“We can trust them.”

I felt the sting of regret after my next question, “Because you want to or because you have to?”

The feeling was temporary because the entire class intervened chorally, “Have to,” ending the conversation.

This encounter evidences the one comment I want to tell people about China right now: It is no Soviet Union.

Sure, when President Barack Obama visited last week, activists and bloggers were detained for the duration of his stay. The judicial system is corrupt and harsh. Local Party politics is the best business next to religion. Worse, the Great Firewall has prevented me from watching all those darned kitten-laden youtube videos that evidently merit an iPhone app. 

Meanwhile, due to China’s investment in infrastructure, American cities are going to look old and run down by comparison in a couple years. They’re fairing better than any other country against the Great Recession. Higher education is becoming increasingly accessible. Also, China’s clean energy program is giving Nor-Cal a run for its money.

However unconstrained the government’s power may be, unlike the USSR, pure paranoia isn’t used to substantiate public policy.

The ‘why do you trust the government’ conversation provokes hostilities, making it difficult to have. Various events from the Alien and Sedition Act to the creation of Gitmo nourish my skepticism, but my Chinese counterparts here don’t have a reserve of comparable examples. Tiananmen Square is not a buzz word for violently quelled student-led pro-democracy movement. Stating or implying it makes you an accuser.

Most importantly, though, my time here so far has been lovely. My students, in their uninhibited excitements, are lovely. The older folks who gather in groups of up to 40 on street corners and parking lots for their morning tai chi and evening dance routines are lovely. The ritual gatherings with my friends/urban family are lovely. Learning Chinese has been excruciating. In that department, I ain’t getting no love. 

Halloween. Polly, moi, Ale, Lizly and Janette in Suzhou

*Btw: After the rant in my previous post, I thought this particularly ironic.