When I signed up to work in China, I had a singular mission: to see China. I prettied this up for my interview by saying as a journalist, it is important to understand different groups of people in order to report more accurately and fairly. But, in general, I just wanted to be paid to see another land.
Now that I'm here, actually living in it, I see what I sorta
wanted to see. As an idealist, I've struggled for some time with the
idea of communism. No matter what, when you think about the idea, it
seems great. Perfect. Utopian. But, as we all know, the experiements
with it in practice have prove it to be bad. Terrible. Destructive.
I realized long ago that China is not communist. "The Communist
Party of China" couldn't care less where people put their money, and it
certainly isn't in a common pool so everyone can live nicely. The CPC
has one main goal, function, and mission in this modern China: to keep
the people down.
To do this, many methods deemed archaic by Western governments
(but still slyly used) are employed. Unlike our wonderful Western
governments, these methods aren't hidden. Or explained. Or put
through the neat little spin machine to seem ok. They're just as
blatant and obvious as the color of my hair. And that is the
disturbing part.
It is widely known and accepted that very little of Chinese
newspapers is accurate. In fact, I read that during the summer even
the WEATHER is forged because there is a law that says if it's over 39
degrees celcius you don't have to go to work. The Chinese government
has gotten so used to this control that they're trying to do the same
to foreign journalists and newspapers who are reporting on the
Olympics. In order to maintain the control they have over the people
that let's them say, oh, about a week before that one of the four
national holidays a year is canceled and have everyone be ok with it,
they have to lie. And that's just what they intend to do. Believe it
or not, I have absolutely no access to any news articles printed about
the Beijing Olympics that discuss free speech. So I had my mom email
me one. Here's the link: http://chinaview.wordpress.com/2007/12/03/let-us-launch-a-speak-the-truth-movement-in-china/
I'm staying in the land of communism for another semester. But my
contract ends on July 15, and I fully intend on getting the hell out of
Beijing before the Olympic madness starts. (I like madness in the form
of people. Jack Kerouac taught me that. But madness in the form of
government is scary. George W. Bush taught me that.) I have no
intention of seeing China's dreams of development meet their demise in
person. I have no desire to hear all the horrible things that the
Chinese government is going to say about foreigners in lieu of the
travesty that will be their attempt at being a world stage. I have
absolutely no inclination at all to be caught in the undertoe of the
joke that the world is seemingly playing on China.
Because I can only assume that the reason the Olympic Committee
gave Beijing the bid for 2008 was to shut them up and let them dig
their own grave. There's no other reason. This city, this country is
not prepared at all, contrary to what the well designed propaganda
posters claim (they make the skies blue in Beijing). And as is evident
by the fact that the athletes aren't allowed to stay in China after
their events because all the pollution could cause great damage to
their health. Or that the horses can't be imported to mainland China
because they would have to be quarantined for something like 10 years
afterward (long after they've become dog food). Or that the running
events as a whole cannot take place in Beijing because runners inhaling
carbon monoxide always equals bad news.
Nope. None of this has hit this wonderful country. They're still
complaining that the foreigners are casting predijuces against them.
That and trying to figure out how to write the stories in all languages
so it doesn't get out that the Beijing 2008 Olympics was a complete
sham. Oh, and trying to beat the United States in the medal haul.
Meanwhile, this non-athlete is battling a chest cold thanks to the
"ready for the Olympics" air in this city as I watch the smokestack
next to my apartment belch more of that beautiful pollution...*
(Note: The smokestack is not right outside my apartment. That was for literary value. But it is within spitting distance of one of my classrooms.)
