Attacking by oblique means and stealthy feints since 2007
Chicago Dan’s American English Daycare put up an advertisement in my neighborhood. Sounds like a pretty nice service for Chinese kids. Especially the part about the foreign teachers being American and white.
Reading “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior” makes one’s head spin.
The thousands of comments are even better: some expressing admiration, but most in shock that a Yale professor, or any sane person, actually believes in this sort of parenting. Instead of the Chinese patriots who overwhelm the comments sections of other China-related articles, this time we hear from Chinese-American and other Asian American grown-ups who endured this kind of childhood. Unsurprsingly, most didn’t enjoy it too much.
I was sorting through some old papers over the weekend and came across the card for Grand Profit International Travel Agency.
I used their services several times, back when it was difficult and expensive to get an F visa in Beijing. The same visa bought in Hong Kong was cheap and easy to get, and I am always up for a trip down to HK. Here’s the price list on the back of the card (from around 2005):
Beijing has become the better option in recent years, as the HK places got more expensive and less reliable. Trader’s Link is probably the best-known agency in Beijing; it’s still expensive, but generally reliable. The only trick now is to time your visa renewal with a China entry, due to the policy of making all F visa holders leave the country once every year, regardless of how much time is left on one’s visa.
I talked to the new manager at Traders Link on my last visit; he said the place is run by the Public Security Bureau. A bit surprising, but it does explain the ever-growing number of meaningless gestures required in the application. (My favorite part of that procedure is having to stand in front of the reception desk as they photograph me with the company logo behind me to prove that I actually came into the office.)
I witnessed my first authentic Chinese fire drill when riding out of my apartment complex this morning. The basic form was the same as I have seen back home: A white Volkswagen Jetta was stopped in the intersection where the street meets the side road of the Third Ring Road. The driver got out, followed by the front seat passenger and then a back seat passenger. Each of them walked around the car and re-entered in a different seat. The car then drove away.
But just like the “Chinese food” in America that bears little resemblance to the wide range of fare available here, a real Chinese drill is a far more nuanced and complex performance in its homeland:
It seems the rest of the world is has barely scratched the surface in terms of understanding this part of Chinese culture.
This recent China Daily article attempts to draw attention to the accusations of “group licentiousness” against a teenage girl in southern China:
GUANGZHOU – A 17-year-old girl who is suspected of participating in group sex parties has been put on trial in Dongguan No 2 People’s Court in Guangzhou.
Li Jie (alias), a sophomore at Houjie vocational school, is being charged with group licentiousness in Dongguan.
In the public indictment, the prosecution said Li, who repeatedly had sex with several male students on one occasion, committed group licentiousness.
It would seem unlikely that the girl not only participated parties where she had sex with multiple men, but also agreed to be filmed doing so. Unlikely, but not impossible, especially in Guangdong province, where in the past few years it has become something of a fad for teenage girls to gang up on a classmate, hit, kick, and slap her, pull her hair, rip off her clothes, and otherwise humiliate her, and then film the whole thing and put it online.
Equal consideration is given to both sides of the story — whether the girl knowingly plotted “group licentiousness” or was simply drugged with ketamine and gang-raped. It is both enjoyable and sad to watch the author drop hints, in the most tortured and indirect of ways, that the accusations against the girl are perhaps a bit over the top. No mention is given to any actions taken against the three male students she supposedly “partied” with.
Even more interesting to me, though, were the links in the two right-hand columns. Top billing in the “Specials” column goes to World Cup, which is being played in South Africa. Just below it is an AP story about black slave children in the antebellum United States. Actually, it’s about a photograph of black slave children. This key piece of news was deemed more important than an analysis of China’s economy, which is listed third among the “Specials”. For those who were too dim to catch on, the leading piece in the adjacent “Columnists” section is titled “Africa, World Cup and neo-colonialism”.
ODB just passed along a great interview from the new English language edition of China’s Global Times newspaper. GT’s Lu Jingxian talks with Jack Rosen, chairman of the American Jewish Congress and American Council for World Jewry. (It’s unclear whether or not Mr. Rosen is related to the well-known Dr. Rosen in Los Angeles.)
The tone of the interview reminds me of countless conversations I have had on politics here in China. The Chinese interviewer gets right to the point with a blunt statement and question:
American Jews are known for their formidable lobbying power in the US. How is this accomplished?
I get in a Beijing taxi and tell the driver my destination. He puts the car in gear and looks at me in the rearview mirror as the car starts to move. “Which country are you from?”
“The United States.”
“You Americans love to start wars!”
GT: The AJC is a powerful political group in the US. China is also learning to build more lobbying power there. What stage are Chinese currently at? What are your suggestions?
Rosen: The primary objective of the Jewish lobby has been in keeping US values.
If you go back 40 years, the Jewish lobby was lobbying on behalf of individual rights and civil rights. And they did it for African Americans, they did it for Latin Americans, and they did it for Chinese.
Working hard for the rights of individuals is a core US value. The Jewish lobby gained that influence by lobbying on behalf of issues that 90 percent of Americans would agree with.
Then there is the issue of Israel. Why are Jewish groups so successful in lobbying for Israel? Again the American public is very supportive of the only democracy in the Middle East, the only country in the Middle East that gives equal rights and freedom to everyone. Woman have equal rights in Israel.
So it’s easy to lobby for Israel, because 90 percent of Americans believe in what you are lobbying for….
That sounds about right.
If you ask if the Chinese community has a strong lobby, I don’t believe so, because they don’t lobby for those kinds of issues. What do they lobby for? “Love us Chinese?” It’s a nice idea, but it has no substance.
We don’t say, “We are Jews, love us, and make us powerful.” We have specific issue that we fight for. And the result is we become the leadership. We are very active in government in very high positions.
Usually it’s someone over 40. I can tell at the beginning of the conversation if the question is coming or not. I can feel how bad he wants to ask it, but he doesn’t seem sure how to put it. “So….do you like China?”
A thousand thoughts pass through my mind from the last fifteen years of study, life, work, travel, and thought about China. This question will take another fifteen years to answer properly. I suspect my face is betraying panic and confusion and try to maintain a casual expression. I take the easy way out. “Ummm…Yes? Yes, sure.”
GT: For Chinese to lobby in the US, obviously we have ideological clashes. How can Chinese remove that barrier and win the hearts and minds of American public?
Rosen: You have to understand there are differences. The US people understand you have something to offer, and they accept the differences. They disagree with you publicly sometimes, but we have to find things in common.
We do have ideological differences, but they don’t matter compared with things we cooperate on. They won’t affect Chinese investment in US and US investment in China. They won’t affect economic policies, and they won’t matter where we support each other over issues of concern.
They will matter if there is an issue. Regarding Sudan, Americans care about humanitarian issues. You need to take the time, make the effort, and get the American people to understand you.
China’s position on Sudan aside, Rosen has a point. A couple of recent Global Times articles (one from September 30 and one from November 10) on Sino-Sudanese relations rely almost solely on official (and generally positive) Sudanese government statements; comments from the Chinese side, whether from the government or the reporter, are conspicuous in their absence.
GT: Inside the US, what is the general attitude of the Jewish population toward China?
Rosen: It’s a positive one. We know China has no anti-Semitism. We are always thankful of Chinese people for that and for those Chinese who saved Jews in World War II.
No anti-Semitism? Not so sure about that. At the very least there’s a tortured mix of admiration and envy — a less negative version of common Chinese attitudes toward the US and Japan.
GT: Last year, several Jewish groups in the US called for boycotting the Beijing Olympics. How should we see this?
Rosen: They probably didn’t call for boycotting Beijing Olympics because of Jewish issues, but for some other issues….
The Jewish community tends to be very liberal and they may disagree with certain issues in your country or countries you support. American people and some in the world oppose that, and some of them are Jewish.
The taxi driver again: “Why are you wearing that uniform?”
“I’m going to play soccer.”
“But you’re American!”
(neither of us knows what to say next)
GT: There are some Jewish politicians in the US who take a strong stance against China. What’s their influence on US policy toward China?
Rosen: The fact that they are Jewish is not relevant. They are politicians, American politicians, and they represent Americans. They may happen to be Jewish, and they may disagree with some Chinese issues, but connecting the two is not correct…
At this point the reporter seems to be trying hard to restrain himself from shouting, “Why don’t you Jews love us Chinese?!?”
GT: Chinese companies may meet local resistance when they try to expand in the US market. How should they work to avoid that?
I don’t think Chinese companies are particularly anticipating these problems, working through them, and doing the right public relations campaigns.
Rosen: I don’t think Chinese companies have problems in the US. Some Chinese companies have problems entering into the US market. It depends on the industrial sector they operate in. Chinese entrepreneurs are quite welcome in the US and they shouldn’t be fearful of that.
But on some sensitive business, China has to be thoughtful of what the reaction would be. They have to anticipate the reaction and work to limit the damage of that reaction.
Chinese business can’t just parachute into America. They have to anticipate the problems involved. The technology sector is probably problematic.
That’s good advice for both sides.
Bonus link 1: Here’s a “foreign view” published in the Global Times in August that discusses the lingering stereotype of the Wealthy Jew in China.
Bonus link 2: There’s a tiny link on the Global Times article for True Xinjiang, which appears to be ssimilar in concept to the entertaining China Tibet Information Center and ChinaTaiwan.org.
Now it’s the ladies’ turn, or rather the girls’ turn. A post-match fight erupted after China beat Australia in the U-19 women’s football tournament match in Wuhan. China’s Titan Sports has the best coverage; curiously, its video link to the footage of the violence isn’t working, but another article has a few photos.
I watched a few minutes of the match last night before going to bed. Seemed like a pretty boring match, or at least not one that would lead to a fight.
ESPN provides a few details on the incident:
However following the final whistle, an Australia player fell to the ground while remonstrating with the Chinese, prompting captain Tameka Butt to charge across the pitch and grab the perceived offender.
That sparked a mass brawl as both sets of players and backroom staff charged onto the pitch, with punches thrown.
Shocking enough, but it gets worse:
Once order was restored, several plastic water bottles were thrown from the crowd in the direction of the Australian team – whose ages range from 15 to 19 – as they made their way down the tunnel with local police imploring fans to stop the behaviour.
Soccer players fighting in China? Women arguing in Wuhan? Fans throwing bottles at teenage girls? The reporter unwittingly gets it right: “Order was restored”, at least in China’s soccer universe.
Wuhan made headlines a couple of months ago when the chengguan, “urban management” officers in charge of enforcing public order, simply surrounded and stared at an illegal street vendor until he was shamed into leaving. This was news because chengguan are typically expected to use more forceful methods to clear out the riffraff.
Now Wuhan’s chengguan are taking it a step further and deputizing a foreigner to put help save Wuhan from utter chaos by forcing shopkeepers to move boxes of bottled water off the sidewalk:
Israel’s Calcalist (Hebrew only) reports on quite a little scandal at the Israeli embassy in Beijing. According to the newspaper, the consul in the newly opened Israeli consulate in Shenzhen is under heavy criticism for choosing to live in…
Beijing!
According to the article, the newly appointed consul has been living in the nation’s capital for the last three months and has been commuting to work on a weekly basis. Not only that, according to the article his weekly travel expenses amount to USD 2,000 which is approximately RMB 14,000, and which also seems to me just a little too much…
Frankly, I don’t understand why he didn’t just stay in Tel Aviv. Not only is the weather much nicer but return flights to Hong Kong only cost around USD 1,000 or so…
Fortunately I am not the only one that thinks that there is something wrong with this picture and an official complaint has been filed with the Israeli State Comptroller.
What is it with Israeli politicians and their love for air travel?
I’m a big fan of David Cross, mostly from his work in Mr. Show, and was surprised to find several videos of his travels through China for VBS.tv. The series is called “The Vice Guide to Travel – China”, and Cross is joined by Gavin McInnes. I found three episodes: China, Day in Shanghai, and All American Pies. All are worth checking out. In one episode they watch part of Super Bowl XL between the Steelers and Seahawks, which would mean the trip was filmed in early 2006.
It’s always interesting to see well-known personalities reacting to things the rest of us notice here in China. (I remember seeing a short video of South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone on a similar trip a few years back but can’t find any clips online.)