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Shanghai Diaries - June 18th




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Just a quick thought on why giving the expats, along with the foreign media, a hard time is such a bad idea.
aricsqueen

29 responses // Shanghai Diaries - June 18th

  • Yup it's still Wednesday dude! :) I know it's hard to believe but it is. :) hehe..

    What's up with that Foreigners aren't allowed without permission sign? How many of these signs have you seen? I can understand them having some places off limits, such as the Olympic secure areas. Every Olympics has that kind of stuff. However, as I commented previously, I am curious to know how many of these "off-limit" areas are going to occur.

    When we hosted the Olympics in Sydney, there was a lot of "clean up" done but nothing extreme, and certainly nothing was "hidden" from the public eye. People weren't moved out of areas to make it look like a nice area. The areas immediately surrounding the Olympics were beautified and the public transport system overhauled for the duration of the games but nothing really more than that.

    I'm really interested to see what transpires between then and now. As an ex-journalist myself, I can totally relate to the subject you hit upon today. There's going to be so much coverage by the major networks and journalists on the standard fair, that the little journalists are going to be looking for the "saucy details" for their own blogs and smaller publications. It doesn't take very much for the larger networks to pick up on those things if it's something particularly saucy.
    light487
  • your not even a journalist looking for a story and still you get that much infos and stuff to talk about...if you put pressure on something it will react what will cause more reactions etc. ; it´s just physic. ^_^
    excuter
  • There used to be a television show a very long time ago in America called "Naked City". It was about NYC. Every episode ended with a narrator stating, 'There's a million stories in the naked city.". The last time I was in Beijing that saying kept coming to mind over and over again. Everywhere I looked there was something that broke my heart just a little bit. More homeless on the streets than I'd ever seen before. Old people in T Square with handmade signs and a small silent protest over the loss of their longtime homes...soon being taken away by the security police and taken to a prepared bus in the middle of the square. Now I've been to Beijing at least a dozen times. I'd never seen this there before. Half a million folks will come to Beijing in six weeks and see a new and modern plastic city...they won't know the difference but I do. I've been here in China five years now. I saw the way Beijing USED to be...full of charm and an amazing historical tradition. Most of that is gone now. That's what breaks my heart. I keep hearing Joni sing, "They paved paradise and they put up a parking lot.". But it's really more than that...they've given Beijing a lobotomy.
    austinpickers
  • Homeless in BJ
    austinpickers
  • Where they take the protesters in T Square.
    austinpickers
  • Lots of security police in T Square.
    austinpickers
  • Everywhere around T Square and the Forbidden City there are these watchtowers.
    austinpickers
    1 response to this
  • The Chinese still have hope.
    austinpickers
  • This is all gone now replaced by Disneyland.
    austinpickers
    2 responses to this
  • Ready for action!
    austinpickers
  • Police state.
    austinpickers
  • I used to go back to America and tell folks this isn't the totalitarian China you've been told about. Well folks, I was wrong!
    austinpickers
    1 response to this
  • And to think, this police state has been created because they are afraid of these folks.
    austinpickers
  • It's a new dawn in Beijing.
    austinpickers
  • Austinpickers, thanks for the photos.

    Does anyone know of a site where it's possible to see before and after pictures of all the changes in Beijing?

    It's definitely something I would like to know more about.
    Lunetta
  • austinpickers, those are really great photos, thanks! Have you noticed much change in Zhengzhou? Isn't that where they had the university protests awhile ago where the student rioted because their diplomas weren't what they expected? Since Henan is still pretty close to Beijing, have there been these kinds of restrictions that are being pointed out in other places?

    I haven't been to Beijing in two years and always figured China would improve over time and not regress, but now I'm beginning to wonder. I was never a huge Beijing fan; always preferred Shanghai because it seemed more open to me, but these days the contrast seems to be much more distinct.

    Good question, Lunetta. I'd also like to see the before and after changes.
    SDSteve
  • austinpickers - you're doin' our adopted State much better credit than I've ever done, some seriously good pics. are you there now?

    good ideas from all re: the before/after state of the Games, am sure someone's doing it.
    aricsqueen
  • http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/olympiccities/beijing/rec...
    My google skills are horrible, so far all I've managed to find by myself is this site and let's just say that I'm less than satisfied by the information given.
    Lunetta
  • Sadly what we are seeing is what happens when a country is run by government committees.

    It looks like the aim is for the games to be held in front of 100% Chinese crowds cheering and waving red flags in a synchronised, orderly fashion.

    Committees like order and fear spontenaity

    Its going to be like the Nazi games back in the 30's and we know where that xenophobia and rabid nationalism eventually led.

    I think that if we actually get to see the games on TV in the west, the Chinese jingoism is going to be so over the top, that you will need a sick bag in case you need to throw up..

    I have lost interest in visiting China for the forseeable future and have switched my language learning over to Japanese.

    I visited Hong Kong last year and really enjoyed it. I hope the commies never ruin Hong Kong.

    Maybe its still not to late for the Chinese government to wake up and let a bit of freedom in?
    BigKev
  • Yeah, I'm still in Zhengzhou. I had a scare a couple of weeks ago. I gave a lecture on the environmental situation in China and went a wee bit overboard for a few of the Maoists in the audience. I was afraid I might be outta here but I gave the same lecture again on Monday with the university leadership in attendance and afterward they told me to carry on. There has been incredible growth and modernization here as well but with a huge difference. Zhengzhou didn't displace millions of folks and they certainly didn't destroy their history and culture. And no, Zhengzhou is certainly not the police state Beijing has become. They've had their moments with the university riots and the Carrefore crap but I've never really felt the repression you certainly do now in Beijing. Hey Kev...don't give up on China! I stay here because of the people not the government. These people are the most peace loving, gentle people I've ever met. With all the government BS, China's still the greatest adventure I've ever experienced. It really pisses me off to the core sometimes but that's only because of the differences in our cultures. My government pisses me off too. Damn governments...Can't live with em, can't overthrow em. Glad ya'all liked the pics.
    austinpickers
  • BigKev, I wanted to echo austinpickers' comments about the people in China. If you're dealing with the right people, who are open to the rest of the world and fairly well educated, they are the sweetest, most wonderful people you can imagine. They can have a certain innocence that isn't from ignorance, but something they deliberately choose and it's really refreshing.

    For me, I found China to be more direct than Japan, easier to form friendships and more like our culture in many ways. Life there is a series of adventures; events that you're remember 'til your dying day. And when you form a true friendship, it is on a deeper level than what you'd find in the west, at least in my experience. It's definitely worth at least a couple of weeks to wander around and form your own opinion.

    Yeah, the government can be very silly sometimes (you'll hear the word "silly" a lot in China) but like austinpickers said, "damn governments". For a short visit, you won't notice the government that much and might be surprised how open and free it is in many aspects.

    Personally, I much preferred Shanghai to Hong Kong...
    SDSteve
  • Yep. Governments are scary. Give any of them a modicum of motivation and they would have your butt in detention - all for the greater good. Usually the greater good boils down to self-preservation.

    Oddly, people are different.

    The hardhatshow had a show about the Hutongs.
    http://www.sexybeijing.tv/new/hardhatshow/
    http://www.sexybeijing.tv/new/video.asp?id=18
    I'm not sure if that video above is the right one... the Great Corporate Firewall frowns on many video sites. They haven't discovered current.com yet hehe :)
    mutantjedi
  • This article just appeared in the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/18/business/worldbusines...

    It seems that doing business in China is less profitable than before and many companies are hedging their bets by building factories in places like Vietnam or Thailand in case inflation and wages continue to increase as they have been the last couple of years.

    China might have to soften their image and change some of their laws to maintain economic growth, which is priority #2 for them. (priority #1 is to maintain power) It could get very interesting...
    SDSteve
  • http://akgeographers.blogspot.com/2007/04/beijing-2007-...
    excuter
  • ...on www.flickr.com should be plenty also...
    excuter

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