Alex Goes To China

This is a response to a blog by Dedlam on his blog ‘Dedlog’ written on 3 June 2009 titled Justifying the [Great Firewall of China] GFW but nothing else. Unfortunately I cannot twitter or facebook update about this blog, as I have been blocked, the Great Firewall of China strikes again. It has many interesting insights into China, censorship and authoritarianism from an Australian that has been living in there. It inspired me to put my two cents worth forward, in response to him.

I agree with the assertion that there is no such thing as ‘evil’… at least in the Hollywood sense of the word. However, I disagree with Dedlam’s familial metaphor of Chinese governance as justification of the Great Firewall of China. My view is coming from a democratic politic, which has many flaws, but nevertheless is a more reasonable position than justifying authoritarianism.

Civil disobedience and political critique in China are dealt with through censorship and violence to her own people [1]. This is not a Right of Governance, but an Abuse of Power. Self preservation by a regime is no justification for this abuse. The fact that many Chinese citizens are susceptible to demagogy and fallacious appeals to patriotism is further proof of a successful 60 year long campaign of misinformation and ‘re-education’.

We should be equally critical of capitalism’s perversion of democracy. Americans, for instance, are perhaps even more susceptible to demagogy than the Chinese (for example G.W. Bush’s irrational rhetoric after Sept. 11 and his subsequent reelection). It seems that power corrupts no matter what the political or economic system. This is why the checks and balances of a self critical democracy should be obtained and preserved peacefully whenever possible in order to diminish the opportunities for corruption.

China is capable of a free democracy. It will take time, but a political system that can withstand critique and disobedience is more likely to be creative, innovative and modern. I hope the people of China will create a democracy that suits its recent trend toward modernity. It seems that this shift will happen sooner rather than later. The old ways of Maoist Communism and 1978 style ’socialism with Chinese characteristics’ are fast fading. They will be replaced with a socialist democracy… with Chinese characteristics.

These predictions for the future are fraught; and may not come to pass, but I hope they do. Ironically they will probably not be achieved through revolution, but rather through education, as the old PRC realises there is more power in a free democratic people than the doctrines of Marx and Mao.

[1]: ie/ The Great Firewall of China, Tienanmen Massacre, etc.

One of Jo and my reasons for going to China was to see which city we might live in, in the future. Another reason is to have a holiday; and by ‘holiday’ I mean ‘be a tourist’.

So far we have been to 798 Art Zone, Tienanmen Square, The Great Wall, Wangfujing Dajie and Nanluogo Xiango. We are thinking about going to Beijings underground city (a nuclear bomb shelter built by Mao in the 1970s to house 40% of Beijings population) and perhaps The Summer Palace. These things are important historical and cultural sites which are also quite entertaining. And yet having said that, the most interesting part of this trip so far has not been the monuments and tourist sites. Rather it has been observing the banal, ordinary lives of the people in Beijing.

The streets are not as busy as I would have expected. They are dirty, but not as much as I would have thought. My expectations are constantly being challenged. Generally the Chinese are warm and friendly without any hint of racism or xenophobia. If anything they are too accommodating to foreigners (perhaps because of the opportunities a comparatively wealthy westerner may represent in the new economy).

Traveling with Jo has also been a bit of a coup for me. Her Chinese is quite good and she knows her way around. For instance, we have not had any problems finding delicious, hygienic food. She is even teaching me Chinese with a patience I wish my secondary school teachers had possessed. And because of her skills we have been able to fit comfortably into a sort of way in China that is both challenging and pleasurable.

Overall my impressions of Beijing are such that I know I could live here. The challenge would be to find meaningful sources of income that develop my artistic, academic and technical vocation. But if I can manage that, then a longer term adventure in Beijing would be awesome.

The centre of Beijing; urban life in Dongcheng

Human history is filled with horrors. Despots, dictators and socio-economic and political systems that are nothing but barbaric and atrocious. China particularly could make Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus (a nasty little story) seem like a romantic comedy. Chinese empires have committed genocide, rape, torture and war for nearly 4000 years. The Cultural Revolution of Mao itself also has played its hand in a number of massacres which leave the number of dead in the tens of millions and the scars of its rule the continuing brain death of a nation.

Yet things are changing. I suspect that with the new international era of Chinese engagement, it will fair better (probably because I am a naive optimist). Also, I contextualise the above rant with the knowledge that Europe has a very similar history, as do many of the Great Civilisations of millennia past. Civilisation is not very civilised.

I hope humanity is not doomed to repeat the horrors of history, and I especially hope China will learn from its past and move forward.

As a social media consultant and an Internet g33k, I am quite invested in the notions of freedom interwoven into the web. For this reason I am quite upset by China’s attempts to censor the World Wide Web (and equally upset by Australia’s recent attempts).

Something I take satisfaction in however is the counter measures being taken by white hat hackers the world over in creating easy to use tools for side stepping the censors. My personal favourite is the Global Internet Freedom Consortium (GIFC). With people like this in the world we will always have alternatives to fear, oppression and abuses of power.

And now on a lighter side, here is another conflation of Chinese and Australian politics.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptccZze7VxQ&feature=player_embedded]

Now that my travels to the Far East (or far north relative to Australia) are only 17 days away I must admit that I am filled with a mix of excitement and trepidation. One of the reasons for traveling to China is to find opportunities to make a living there and to explore the possibility of moving there next year. My trepidation is based on the possibility that I won’t like it, therefore leaving me unsure of my future plans.

My excitement is based on the fact China has so much to offer the world. In the wake of the USA’s economic decline, China is in good stead to become one of a new generation of superpowers (India, Brazil and others seem likely to ascend to this status also). This in itself means that China will become more and more relevant to everyone in the coming years. For this reason I want to understand China better… this trip and future travels there is a part of this. So here we come China! 17 days and counting…