China Segment

I’m actually pretty disappointed with the coverage of the Beijing Olympics in China. I’ve been watching them on the Chinese stations, thankful that my Chinese has progressed enough in the last four years to be able to understand a heck of a lot more than during Athens. However, despite a decent amount of live coverage, I’m left wanting more, and feeling like I’ve missed a lot. You’d think with anywhere from 3 to 5 channels broadcasting simultaneously we’d be getting just about everything that’s on at any one time - or at least some good variety.

Unfortunately a lot of the air time goes to anchors at the front desk overlooking Tiananmen Square, pontificating on the events and rehashing what’s been going on. If they put on replays of the days great events, that would be nice - but they only show snippets as they review what happened, frustrating those of us who have to work for a living and can’t quite watch every minute. Plus a lot of events and big matches haven’t been broadcasted at all, leaving people begging for at least some late-night reruns. But alas, from 10-12 p.m. there ain’t much on, and what little is shown is diving and ping pong… hardly what I’m looking for. The worst I’ve seen was a 3 second ‘ad’ break (a self promo shot really) on Shanghai TV during a baton exchange in the women’s 4×400m relay - I had to just laugh at that one. Seriously guys, get it together.

Of course we’re in China and I expect the focus to be on Chinese athletes and events where Chinese athletes have a good shot at winning. But today’s 11th place water polo match between Canada and China doesn’t seem to fit that billing. Again, naturally, I don’t expect much for controversy from the reporter’s mouths, particularly when it involves
under-aged competitors or even visitors to Beijing being stabbed. However, something between what Brian Wilson on CBC does in Canada (read: ignore the events and concentrate fully on doping) and the glossed over rosiness of China’s anchors would be nice. The only thing close was the Liu Xiang affair, which was immediately claimed to be a national tragedy, though in the days and golds since then, actually somewhat forgotten (except by his sponsors).

Feds

One of the many casualties for the Olympics is fun. Here in Shanghai, many of the less desirable elements of big-city life (fake DVD stores, ‘pink light shops’, etc.) have been closed down for the Olympics. But also added to the list are the closing down of the (relatively) honest shops in the subway stations as well as bag checks therein, security being beefed up to enter commercial buildings, whole streets barred off to street traffic around Shanghai stadium, and bars being warned to close early.

The whole atmosphere of the Olympics as felt by the average city-goer is one of inconvenience, bottlenecks, and fascism. It’s all in the name of security, so certain aspects I can agree to. But the problem is that the ‘name’ of security is also a cover for a watchful eye over dissent, protests, and maintaining face to the outside world.

So gone go the DVD stores. We can’t have people actually seeing that these exist (at least in a visible way). If you’re having a package or lunch delivered to your office, the delivery guy can’t come into the building, beyond the lobby. You have to go down and meet them halfway. IDs required to enter any commercial building (at least in Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao and Hong Kong), even if the security guys already know you by name. And Peoples’ Square subway station in Shanghai is looking more like a prison than a mass transportation hub. Corridors are fenced off and people are herded in certain directions, regardless of which way is shorter or where you want to exit. Looks like they want to be able to shut it down fast if needed. But if there was a bomb or a fire in there, hundreds of people would probably die simply because of all of the precautions.

A friend and I were having an unusual conversation the other day. It occurred to both of us that if the government wanted to, they could try to maintain the controls over prostitution and the fake goods markets. Couldn’t they? During the Olympics the police and other security organizations (including the neighborhood ’spies’ - don’t worry, that’s just my name for the neighborhood security officers) have done a pretty good job keeping the undesirables to a minimum. Tourists in town will have little idea that there are pink light shops on just about every street. (For those of you who don’t know, these shops posing as massage shops or barbers might as well be right out of the red light district in Amsterdam - there is no denying what 6 or 8 girls sitting near a window in little dresses and push-up bras with pink light bulbs glowing are about.)

So why not keep the bans? Why not actually try to clean up this town? This is their chance, why waste it? Unfortunately there are a few against it happening:

First, it all just goes underground. There are cops and informers, but just not enough.

Second, bribes. I’m sure the local patrol guys and all the others get a fair bit of supplemental income (to borrow Bill Murray’s phrase from "Kingpin") from the fake goods stores and the brothels, not to mention the odd massage, au gratis.

Third, one could argue that the consumers around the country count on cheap prices. Not necessarily on Gucci sunglasses, but for software, phones, computers and all the other goods that are helping the consumers and businesses of this country catch up to the West. The upper echelons of the Party - along with an array of NGOs and governments around the world - that this is morally acceptable.

Forth, frankly, the activity of the last few weeks was probably exhausting for all the security personnel who couldn’t take holidays, had to be vigilant, and knew that they in fact were being watched to make sure they were doing their jobs. Rarely, it would seem, are the cops in China actually held accountable for their actions, and more importantly, inactions. But the Olympics will end, the watching will subside, and the security apparatus will slump into the old routines.

Fifth, there is no puritan spirit here, and the general lack of religion and waning ideology of Communism leaves very little room for great moral projects.  There is very little for moral codes in China, and anyone who’s been involved in business knows that honor and ethics are sketchy at times.  The Confucian codes of honoring your parents and at all costs protecting and improving the state of one’s family/clan are the fibers that still bind… which means that outside your family you owe nothing to no one.  So who cares if someone else is ripping DVDs and selling them, who cares if someone else’s daughter is selling her body and the police turning a blind eye.  What is the ethos here?  Unfortunately, since the end of Mao and the Opening Up, there is none, except a quasi-Confucian plus let’s get rich as fast as we can mentality.  And the Party has more important things on its mind, like ethnic minorities, keeping the economy growing, and foreign relations.

So I guess we’re going back to normal, let’s say two days after the Olympics ends.  Welcome back fun, welcome back the few conveniences there are here (locals who say "Shanghai is convenient" irritate me), and welcome back to sin city - ah, she is the Whore of the Orient once again.

Feds

The Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Games just wrapped up a couple hours ago. It’s great to finally get the whole thing started. Odd to think that in just a couple of weeks it’ll be all over - a city and country awash with bitter sweet thoughts of having hosted a magnificent Games, but now hung over with those post holiday blues.

The Ceremony itself was fantastic - to a point. Zhang Yimou, an extraordinary director, put on an amazing display. I was expecting about 30 minutes of dancing, singing and Zhang Yimou color, but what unfolded was far better. There were a couple scenes I didn’t quite understand or thought were a little lame (the Beijing Opera puppet thing, for one), but I’m sure I’ll be shouted down for not understanding Chinese culture. Except for the fact that I do understand a fair amount, far more than most people watching the show from far afield. Nonetheless it was interesting. My personal favorites were the guys with the drums at the beginning (who probably made Hu Jintao feel like Qin Shihuang) and the blasts of fire works that zipped around the top of the stadium at one point.

One thing dampened the extravaganza and had me jumping up in my seat yelling ‘what are they doing, poor Yimou must be screaming at them!’ Several times whoever was directing the camera crew cut to a camera that wasn’t ready, looking askance at a scene, or even once on a guy’s butt as the camera person was obviously fiddling with something. This was on CCTV 1, the main feed. I can only assume that while shots and angles were figured out with preciseness weeks ago in collaboration with Zhang, the CCTV 1 guys must have been the dupes who screwed up. No offense, but Chinese TV is still highly unprofessional, particularly when compared with the small group of elite Chinese film directors and their crews. But alas, I suppose that’s a small point. Just when thousands of people are all doing their best and so many things are being coordinated at once, months of planning and practicing can be lessened by such blatant errors.

I predictably fell asleep sometime after the Iraq athletes filed in, having stayed up for about half the teams, wondering at some of the ugly outfits selected - that means you Ukraine and Canada. I woke up in time for Team McDonald’s, err… China. Nice work on that yellow and red gear guys. Anyone walk in with fries? The whole procession really is the most boring part of the Olympics, and was the reason I’d thought that I’d be writing or reading during most of the night - but sleep was a good third option. Feeling refreshed, I watched the speeches and oaths at the end… again, a little drawn out. Li Ning lit the torch and the pres announced the Games open… almost 4 hours after it all began. Oscars anyone? At least there were no commercials.

So after 7 years of prep and countless years yearning for the Olympics, China’s got the spotlight. More than a few locals were crying at various points during the beginning and end of the night. Before any North Americans sneer (since the Games are something we grow up with and are quite used to), I should point out that just a generation ago China wasn’t even competing in the Olympics. They’ve come a huge distance, and that shouldn’t be taken for granted. Now let’s get to the sports.

Feds

Well, I live in China, and since winning matters, here are my predictions for the 2008 Summer Olympics, starting with winners.

The United States will win the most medals at these Games. That is the way that we measure success in Canada and the U.S., and probably in many other countries like Russia, Germany, France, etc. In China, success is measured by gold, which perhaps says a lot about the differences between our cultures. It also speaks volumes about the difference between the Olympic spirit of Western countries (the love of sport, the glory of representing your country, and the joy and beauty of participation and trying one’s best) versus what some people in China are telling the Olympic spirit means to them: ‘hard work will pay off’, a message obviously meant for factory workers and toiling students. Just the fact that the standings are represented so differently in the U.S. and China show there are dissimilar goals and ideologies at work. It reminds me of 1996, when Donovan Bailey won the 100m dash, traditionally regarded as the test of who was the fastest man in the world. But when Michael Johnson won the 200m and 400m, suddenly he was the world’s fastest. Bailey had to agree to a compromise 150m race (which turned into a fiasco) in order to keep some sort of claim on the title. Ahh, nice when you can switch the standards to stay on top.

Now, about golds. China will win the most - perhaps 37 or so. The U.S. will be a close second, having lost their edge in a few events and having some more to a resurgent Russian sports machine. The Russians do well in many events that the Americans also excel at, but I don’t see them taking many ping pong or diving medals away from China. Then there’s powerhouse Germany to compete with, and other countries who do well in certain events like Australia in swimming.

An intriguing situation may develop however. Hong Kong competes as a separate nation in the Olympics, so can China rightly add any medals HK wins to their totals? They did at the last Olympics, at least unofficially. And what about "Chinese Taipei". If China ends up with 35 golds, America with 36, and Taiwan with 2, will China claim a victory of the Chinese people? One can only speculate the reactions from both sides: the Americans snorting and saying ‘na uh, you lost China, U-S-A, U-S-A’, and the Chinese protesting, acting hurt and crying out that the Americans are sore losers and that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China. Bloggers will post - sarcastically or not - that since the odd Western born Chinese athlete won a medal here or there, these medals should be added to China’s total as well.

Now, other predictions. Security will remain tight, but protests and the odd chaotic event will occur. Foreigners will unfurl banners in Tiananmen Square, with all sorts of messages and slogans on them. They will quickly be whisked away and eventually sent home. Others will chose the Great Wall or other famous venues for baring T-Shirts protesting China’s human rights record. These efforts will win them few fans in China, most people not understanding the slogans and, even after translation, not understanding why foreigners would want to comment on Chinese matters in the first place. Chinese officials will be embarrassed by many feather-ruffling moments, like when the first athlete chooses to speak out about China’s treatment of Tibetan Buddhists or Taiwan, or whatever (hopefully after their event is finished). The trouble most athletes will have is that their messages won’t get across to the people who most need to hear them and will only fall on the ears of their supporters in the West. Nothing as crystallizing as the Black Power salute of the ‘68 Games will occur, and besides, if something like that happened, it would need to be done by a Chinese patriot. If anything like that was done in Beijing, it would be extremely polarizing here, just as it was in the States, but the weight of opinion would be against the act, which after all, doesn’t conform so isn’t valid.

Foreigners who travel to Beijing will marvel at the Stadiums, fall in love with the people who are so friendly and welcoming, be shocked and awed by the habits of some, but generally charmed by the Middle Kingdom and all the romance and history it holds. They will go home telling stories of taxi drivers, noodle shops, nose pickers, student volunteers, beautiful girls, a language they’d love to learn, and the excitement that comes from touching the tip of an ice berg so giant that you can’t wait to get back to explore more of it.

China will claim, after all the false bomb alerts, medals, frustrations over security and traffic bottlenecks, the pageantry, the tears and the ecstasy (from winning, not the drug) that the Olympics were a resounding success and that Beijing had fulfilled its commitment to the I.O.C. The I.O.C. will respond by saying that China had shown itself to the world and held an excellent Games (but will hold its tongue on other matters) and that the torch was being passed to a worthy successor, the London Olympic Committee (though I had thought and hoped that Paris had it in the bag).

Well I guess that’s it for my predictions. Oh, one more - I myself will watch, live and recorded, about 6 hours a day of Olympic coverage. I’ll have to endure the Chinese anthem being played and replayed about 350 times (though as anthems go it’s not bad), but it’ll be worth it. Oh yeah, baby.

Feds

Travel warning to people coming to China - beware of eyebrows that appear angry!

For whatever reason, there was an irresistible fad about 30 years ago for women to get their eyebrows tattooed. Most women in China don’t have particularly thick eyebrows and I guess have the tattoos makes mornings easier. But it is odd.

Tattoos are traditionally frowned upon in Chinese society. You are defiling your body and changing something that your parents gave to you. Very disrespectful. But times change - these days plastic surgery is all the rage. So I guess tattoos 30 years ago is not so crazy.

However, they look odd. First, they’re meant to be black, but of course tattoos are never really black. Tattoos always look a bit bluish, and this only intensifies as time marches on. Then the shape that most are made into look really sharp, there is no fade out along the edges like you’d get with eyebrow pencil. So they all look like Uncle Leo in the Seinfeld episode when his eyebrows were singed off and Elaine drew them in with black marker. The women look mean, angry, surprise, or all three at the same time, depending on the angles at which the artist applied the needles. Wish I could show you a picture or two, but the proxies I have to use to access my site (thank you very much China for blocking this) don’t do well with wordpress picture uploads.

Because it was in style in the 70s, all the women sporting this style are between the ages of 40-60, though there are a few younger ones with it. (The odd young girl gets it done in a light orange or brown color to match her dyed hair, and it looks slightly better.) These middle-aged women must be looked out for, since they’ll push their way on to buses and subways, elbows out. They’re a chatty bunch; you’ll hear them from miles off when they’re excitedly talking with their friends (but still looking angry because of the tattoos) or scolding their husbands or kid.

Fear not, though they’ve got a fearsome brow, they’re more afraid of you than you are of them ; )

Feds

For those of you visiting China during the Olympics (how brave you are!), I have some things to warn you about Chinese ways. Some things that are surprising, even shocking. The first one is nails. Nothing to do with females, this is all about men.

Many men in China have one, or sometimes several, long nails. I don’t mean long as in 3mm and painted, I mean about a centimeter long (or more) and used as tools. They are utilitarian creatures, modern Chinese men. Nails are grown long on either their pinkies or their thumbs, and used as picks, scratchers, screwdrivers, and who knows what else.

Supposedly in a dynasty long ago, these male nails were seen as a fashionable. During the Qing Dynasty, Cixi used to wear gold nail covers that were a couple inches long. (I seem to remember reading something about ancient Egyptian pharaohs doing the same.) When ‘New China’ was founded, the government decided that male nails were unhygienic. My wife said that in kindergarten and primary school the teachers checked boys and girls nails to make sure they’d been cut. Not sure if that practice is still done. It looks as if most younger men don’t have long nails - though far more from the interior do - but I’ve seen a few middle class men with claws. The upper classes tend to frown on it. One of my local friends was set up on a date and when she showed up, the first thing she noticed was his Nosferatu look. That was it, no matter how nice the guy was.

Draculas, all of them!

Feds

China’s got Olympic fever, so you’ll hear a lot of encouragement from its fans any chance they get to root for the home team. One of their favorite expressions is 加油 jia you, which happens to be on my all-time most annoying list.

Literally translated as ‘add oil’, you could kind of compare it with “come on” or “let’s go”. I suppose it’s like adding fuel to the fire. Regardless, my suspicion is that it’s a rather new expression to the language and sounds like a catch-on kind of a phrase. It must have been used about 130 billion times in the last few months, about a hundred times for each person in China, to encourage the people of Sichuan in their search for survivors of the earthquake and for the rebuilding effort now ongoing. Friday a new round begins for the Olympics, which I’m sure will include just a little overkill.

Oh well, I’m sure there could be worse things to cheer - like the Arsenio Hall “whoop whoop whoop whoop” or “we want a pitcher, not a belly itcher”. It just sounds so funny when you take apart the words.

Panda cigarettes are the cream of the crop in China’s cigarette-laden society. No, you’re not smoking Pandas when you light one up, but for some reason the furry animal was thought to be an appropriate logo for a smooth, relaxing smoke after a long day of taking bribes.

Pandas are not for the thin-of-wallet. They cost (a lucky) 88 RMB per pack. That may be run of the mill for a pack of smokes in Canada or England, but certainly not in China, where 3.5 or 4 RMB will get you your nicotine delights. Thus, only the well to do with money to burn or those who wish to celebrate a special occasion will purchase a pack.

I myself have enjoyed them a few times with my wife’s grandfather. He tends to buy them for family gatherings like spring festival and passes them out to the men. Now, most of the time in China I can get away with saying I don’t smoke, but not with gramps; it just won’t do. He gives me that hurt look like I’m making him lose face. I’ve disappointed him and all the dreams he had for me… or something like that. Then he’ll toss one at me from across the table, making it all the harder to decline. Now my wife often tells me to hide it or ’save it for later’, but such tactics are trumped by the lighter that instantly appears at your side whenever a cigarette is present.

In Chinese society, men smoke. It’s simple. All but a few of the youth, or those in ill health at the end, smoke. But many don’t inhale - a fact unnoticed in most of the statistics you see on smoking. Guys smoke to be social. It’s a business thing, a courtesy to offer, and a bond between men folk. Women, by contrast, don’t smoke. Whores smoke, good girls don’t - which is exactly what young girls are told/warped with in this land. Yes, there are some, oddly from the much older and much younger spectrums of the population who smoke, but the vast majority of women are prevented by the social taboos against it, more than the health concerns.

For men it seems obligatory. My wife’s father, for example, quit smoking years ago due to health reasons. But during spring festival he buys boxes of 中华 Zhonghua cigarettes to pass out packs to the men present wherever we happen to be - restaurant, someone else’s home, etc. He’ll smoke a few puffs when offered but never take out his own. He doesn’t inhale. It all seems odd for me, coming from a society where a former smoker would never put themselves in such a tempting situation. The only conclusion I can make is that while the majority of smokers in China must be addicted, there are large numbers who ’smoke’ socially but don’t inhale. I’m sure their health is much the worse for all the smoke they’re breathing in, but I guess it could be worse.

There is an anti-smoking movement in China, but it has no wings. It is youth-led, and doesn’t meet strong resistance, except for the massive cultural inertia that seems to weigh more in China than in other countries. Girls are shielded from lighting up (however ridiculously) as mentioned above, but more and more young men are trying to say no as well. The problem for those in business, particularly sales, is that it is part of male culture and business culture to smoke. Add to that the fact that all the major tobacco companies in China are State-owned, meaning massive revenues, and you find a government that is largely silent when it comes to curbing smoking. The Olympics has cause Beijing to try some temporary bans in public places, but it’s difficult to imagine the bans lasting when smoking is more common in restaurants than napkins or washrooms. The Chinese will continue to smoke, but the health care costs are already spiraling. It will soon make sense to start cleaning up public places, though litigation will not be the source of it (suing Stated-owned companies is something of an anathema in China). Perhaps those in their 30s and 40s will be the last true smoking generation in China.

I have to say though, as much as I don’t like to smoke (less than a pack in my life), those Pandas go down smooooooth.

Feds

Oh what lovely days in the oven that is Shanghai.

Correct that - not oven - steam bath maybe. Need to lose weight? Just come to Shanghai and join our program of walking and sitting - guaranteed to melt the potatoes and cheesecakes of yesteryear right off.

Hot and muggy weather only furthers the smells wafting from the garbage that always seems to be filed through and dumped out of its receptacles and the dried urine that is ubiquitous down lanes and around corners. There truly are some good things about the winter chill, including making the street food, i.e. meat, a little more sanitary. Eating is much more difficult when it’s this hot, as appetites go down and people shed their winter weight - a phenomenon I never noticed in Canada but surely do here. Chinese food lends itself much better to cold weather I’ve decided, as piping hot dishes fried in oil on high heat and boiling hot soups are much easier to palate when you’re not already sweating. There are cold dishes, but nothing like a grilled chicken salad, which goes so well with cold lemonade (extra ice please) on a hot summer day.

By the way, though the temperature is up there close to forty degrees (103 for you Fahrenheiters), many a person will tell you that the official temperature will never reach 40 unless it’s clearly a couple degrees higher by the ol’ mercury. That’s because officially when it’s 40 and above, large groups of the workforce get the day off. I’m pretty sure it includes all government workers (save for emergency crews and the military), and also all state and private companies. It’s like a snow day but for heat. The reason why I said the temp will never get that high is because there are conspiracy theorists who like to think that the weather stations will hold at 39.9 if they’re told to in order to keep the city running. Could be, could be not.

All I know now is the joy of cold showers.

Feds

The wife and I got back from a trip to Canada today. We toured most of Western Canada including driving around Edmonton, Calgary, Banff, Saskatoon, the (Madge) Lake and then flying to Vancouver. Put a lot of kilometers on the rental car - you might as well when they rip you off so badly on everything except the unlimited mileage - and saw a lot of countryside.

I wanted to have time to post entries, but sadly there was not. The internet is so much faster in North America thanks to a lack of filters and increasing investment in broadband, while the speed in China seems to be slower now than when I first was on the mainland in 2002. That said, instead of spending our time online, we spent it with old friends and relatives, drinking and eating far too much. It was good to be back in the West again. After too long in Shanghai one becomes used to the rhythms of life here and forgets what a huge leap up in the standard of living there is.

It’s good to be back, but the list of things I miss about Canada is far longer than list of things I’d miss from China. Or perhaps that’s only because we were only away from Shanghai for two and a half weeks. Anyway, the things to miss about China include:

-fresh vegetables (but not the ones fried and dripping in oil, as they almost invariably are)
-lychees and waxberries (杨梅), though even here their season is only about 2 months long each
-chicken soup that’s made from real chicken (and the whole chicken at that - be gettin’ some of that next time I come down with something)
-old lanes that reek of history
-old people exercising at dawn
-no gun crime
-relatively no brawling and little chance you’ll ever be in physical danger
-the ability of this country to do great things

Things that I miss about Canada are too many to mention, but include central heating and air-con, insulation, super nibs and all the great candy bars, people who question and people with opinions who aren’t afraid to express them, cities with great transportation networks that aren’t sabotaged by people who don’t follow traffic rules, the after-you manners of the Western world, common sense safety (i.e. not carrying your kids to school illegally on the back of your scooter without helmets, living in houses, ovens as opposed to just stove tops, and most importantly BARBEQUES! Yes, we have those little lamb kebab guys on the street corners here, but really, what’s better than being able to fire up the grill and cook yourself a little piece of heaven.

Feds