On yesterday's bike ride I came across a scene that was drawing a crowd. It was in front of an unmarked (as far as I could tell) government building. An old man lay on a stretcher, covered by a dirty old blanket. At first he appeared to be dead; later his eyes fluttered. Next to him, seated on the curb, was a man who was doing something unusual in China: he was arguing with authority. Various uniforms were about. The man spoke and the crowd was silent but for a girl whom I fancied but wasn't sure was speaking for the People. She didn't look at him when she spoke her harsh words, and it would be natural in China for her not to.
One Uniform occasionally spoke a few quiet words. The crowd may have been interested in the novelty of someone questioning authority than the plight of the old man on the stretcher. No-one, not even the protester, seemed at all concerned with him. No ambulance came. It turns out that China's healthcare system isn't so utopian as some believe in the evil greedy corporate American system that they like to blame for their problems. In China, if you don't have health insurance, you pay in advance for treatment. If you can't pay, you are denied treatment until you are dying.
Was it my imagination that the protester looked Tibetan?
