China: in My Eyes

By Robert Stanelle

Most Americans and people all over the world have grown up with an image of China that is vastly different from what is the real China of today. The author, a "senior" American" has lived and taught in China for five years and, through his teaching and travels all around the country, tells the story of those incredible five years. What he experienced, discovered and learned during that time will at times have you laughing, smiling, thinking, wondering or amazed at the China of today. Some stories may bring tears to your eyes. Whatever you may think and feel as you read this fascinating tale, you will thoroughly enjoy "China: In My Eyes."

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477260265

Robert Stanelle

Robert L. Stanelle [e-mail] Known as a visionary change artist who has built teams and developed superior departments and programs worldwide, Robert has expertise in both the corporate and educational worlds of recruiting, teaching, training, counseling and developing effective leaders. He has extensive travel and cross-cultural knowledge supporting his outstanding presentation skills, having lead workshops and seminars worldwide. He has also served in positions of leadership for several professional associations. With a bachelor’s degree from Ball State and masters and doctoral studies at the University of Tennessee, all in the field of education and leadership he has worked in teaching and administration at several universities in the USA plus taught or lectured in six countries on four continents in addition to once directing the recruiting efforts for a Fortune 100 company in America. He has spent approximately half his career in human resources and half in education with proven ability to adapt to and communicate effectively across a variety of cultures. Following his first “retirement,” he came to Wuhan, China, and for five years served as the English Program Coordinator for the Department of Postgraduate Affairs at Wuhan Textile University, where he revolutionized the English curriculum for students seeking their master’s degrees. His first book, A Comprehensive Postgraduate English Curriculum, now serves as an important university textbook in China. He has now entered his second “retirement,” of mostly traveling, speaking and writing. Finally, he is also a published songwriter and photographer plus plays quite a good game of ping pong!

Book preview

© 2012 Robert Stanelle Lao Luo. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 8/28/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4772-6024-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-6025-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-6026-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012914710

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Cover photo is of the author and his cousin, Herb, at the Confucian Institute in Beijing.

Contents

History In Brief

False Impressions And Basic Truths

Basic Philosophical Differences

Some Big Lies

Some Student Questions And Thoughts

Some China / Usa Historical Similarities

Emergency Response

China Today

Government

China’s Government Today

Some Recent Government Decisions

Foreign Relations

National Day Dinner Celebration

Personal Communist Experiences

University Administrative Decisions

Thoughts On Mao Zedong And Leadership

Other Thoughts On Government

Personal Thoughts On Effective Government

Culture

Language

Fireworks

Sheer Delights Of Ping Pong

Internal Strength Of The People

Nonviolent By Nature

Value Judgements

Respect For The Aged

Religion And God

Holidays – Chinese And Western

Birthdays And Other Parties

Eating Out Together

Street Food

Music And Dance

Theater And Stage Culture

Movies And Television

University Sports Days

Chinese Names

Importance Of A Smile

Playing Table Games

Household Pets

Ancient Wisdom

Love, Marriage And Family

Extended Families

Treatment Of Children Beyond Immediate Family

One Child Policy

Thoughts On Chinese Dating

Married Students And Dating Couples

Three Chinese Weddings

Some Personal Reflections

Food And Eating

Basics Of Eating In China

Restaurant Eating

Eating On Campus

Students Feeding Me

Back Street Eating

More Street Food

Special Holiday Foods

Some Final Thoughts On Food

Art As Part Of Daily Life

Four Greats + One

Chinese Calligraphy

Chinese Cooking

Chinese Painting

Chinese Traditional Medicine

Peking Opera

City Life

Living On Campus

Riding The Bus

Chinese Drivers And Taking A Taxi

Shopping And Wandering The City

Spending Time With Students

Playing Santa Claus

Privacy And Personal Freedom

Equality Of Women And The One Child Policy

Freedom Of Religion And To Worship

Tiananmen Square

The Internet

Personal Space, Privacy And Public Toilets

Postal Service

Social Life

Mud Wrestling

Dinner At Lin Li’s Home

Dinner With Chinese Teacher Friends

Shopping With Students

Dates With Students

Shandong Three Granddaughters

University Life

Parents, Autos And Arrival On Campus

Student Travel

Residence Halls And Student Living Conditions

Military Training

University Admissions And Costs

Students Clothing And Dress

Teachers Living On Campus

Canteens / Cafeterias On Campus

Back Street

University International Exchange Programs

Recreation On Campus

Campus Sports Days

Fashion Shows

Christmas Parties And Christmas Day

Chinese Education Expo

Special Events

University Administration And Business Negotiations

My Teaching Position

Other Foreign Teachers

My Foreign Expert Apartment

My Health And Care

Wonderful Chinese Colleagues And Friends

Graduation Day

Teaching And

Chinese Students

Arrival And Intensive English Camp

English Shows

The Postgraduate Masters Degree Program

Classroom Teaching And Lessons

Classroom Presentations / Discussions

Counseling And Advising

Student Traits And Study Attitudes

Philosophy And Religion

Love Shown By Students

Gifts Of Love And Appreciation

Job Hunting And Pressure

Going Dancing

Sports Day And Cheerleaders

My Birthdays

Cooking For Me

Christmas Time With My Students

And Still More Ping Pong

Dining With Students

Kindness And Care Shown When Sick

Guest Speaker For Classes

Another Graduation And More

Staying In Touch

Saying Goodbye

An Apple For The Teacher

Traveling In China

Air Travel

Taking The Train

Boats And Ferries

Riding The Bus

Taxi’s

Renting A Bicycle

Walking

Minivan’s

Tour Groups

Security

Travel Memories

Things To Love About China

Things Westerners Might Not Like

Some Extra Tidbits

Summary Thoughts

Dedicated to my grandfather, Jacob A. Schwindt, the finest man I have ever known; my mother, Margaret, who always believed in me whatever I tried; and the students and teachers of Wuhan Textile University, all of whom gave me joy, happiness and inspiration

Introduction

I have read many articles and opinions about China during my long life and often wondered if the respective writer had ever been to China, or for any length of time? So many writers seem completely unaware of the truths about this country. I say this country in that I have spent five years teaching at Wuhan Textile University in Wuhan, a city of about nine million on the mighty Yangtze. I have taken the time during those five years to travel to thirty-two provinces and eighty plus cities to date. I have discovered that I know my way around China, am very comfortable going almost anywhere and speaking about that particular area culturally or historically and have much knowledge to share. I have become an old China hand in terms of understanding this fascinating country and its wonderful people.

I write this in the hope and belief that it will help the reader to understand some basic truths about China and will also inspire a desire to come see this fascinating country first-hand, to learn about China for yourself. I do strongly believe that no one should be writing or publicly speaking about China, or any country, that has not spent at least a year there, and preferably two or more, getting to know the country and the people. Socrates said the pursuit of knowledge is life’s highest quest. Come, spend some time in China. You will be greatly surprised at what you find and learn.

I realize some westerners may not agree with many of my observations or comments. Some of my Chinese friends may not agree with many of my observations or comments. Such is the nature of human thinking. The observations and comments are mine and mine alone. The categories they are placed under are mine and mine alone. Some topics appear in multiple categories for what, I believe, will be obvious reasons to the reader. I claim full responsibility for my decisions. Real names of individuals have generally not been used for personal reasons. I have no wish to embarrass anyone and do not believe I have done so. If, by chance, I have, I sincerely apologize.

Finally, these are my thoughts and memories of my years in China. It’s not a fact-filled professional journalism report nor is it intended to be. It is simply my observations and experiences along with my feelings and opinions about those observations and experiences. At times it may seem somewhat self-glorifying. It is not meant to be so. I say certain things and relate stories as I do simply to help the reader understand why I have come to so love this country and the people. Redjade, a young girl in the classic Chinese novel, Moment in Peking, said that writing is the conversation you have with yourself when you are lonely. This is my conversation. I hope it will provide food for your own thought and conversation. My thoughts may or not be 100% accurate in the reality. However, they are 100% accurate in the respect that this is

China: In My Eyes

History in Brief

It is well known and documented that China has a very long and storied history, 6000 years or more. If you are from the United States, a baby in historical time, try to imagine that. As a nation, U.S. history is less than 4% of China’s history. When one first arrives in China and visits a few of the many great museums, one’s mouth may drop open in sheer astonishment! One learns a dazzling array of facts. I particularly remember a museum section on Chinese Ceramics where I learned the Chinese invented porcelain 1500 years B.C. Let me repeat - That is B.C.!!!!! I thought that was incredible. I have discovered many such historical facts in my travels around China. The USA is a baby in diapers in time and European history merely a small child itself. The Middle East is an old man and China is a very old man.

As another example, football (soccer), or cuju in Chinese, was played in China nearly 400 years BC! It was originally developed as a game for military exercise and training as seen in historical records from 2500 years ago. The ball was round leather but originally filled with solid material, air coming a thousand years later. Even women began playing cuju in China about a thousand years ago. Polo first appeared in China about 1900 years ago, also originally to train military personnel, in this case horsemen.

I am often reminded that Xi’an, then called Chang’an, was considered the most advanced and greatest city in the world about seven hundred years ago, during the time of Marco Polo’s travels. It had 1.5 million people and was the sixth largest city in the world at that time. It is amazing how advanced China was and how many things they invented or created long before the west ever heard of such things. The longer you are here and the more you learn, the more fascinated you become by this both ancient and modern nation.

In reading more and more on Chinese history and the Chinese renaissance over the last century, one begins to see and understand more fully the changes that have been occurring in this fascinating place. The most important one was the takeover by the communist party in 1949 without which none of China’s current progress would have been possible. China was a feudal society at the time, ruled by various emperors and dynasties for thousand of years. Old ways, slavery and poverty were ingrained in the populace. It took a revolution to throw out the old ways and begin to change the country. I highly recommend reading Edgar Snow’s classic novel, Red Star over China. Snow, an American, traveled with Mao and the Red Army during much of the revolution. In digesting his novel one clearly comes to understand why the Red Army was supported by the large majority of the Chinese populace, why they were eventually victorious and why they deserved to win over the wealthy ruling warlords of the time and the rich and brutal Nationalist Party regime. Mao Zedong was the George Washington of China, the true father of his country.

China was more advanced than Europe through the 1600’s, but then fell behind after that as Europe took on new science and technology, new ways, while China retained the old until recent times and following several internal revolutions. Now China is becoming more and more similar to the western world virtually daily with the greater equality and inclusion of women, more democratic processes, greater emphasis on education, science and technology, and, perhaps most unfortunately, the greater mobility and breakdown of the extended family. Attempting to maintain the best of the old ways, while integrating only the best of the new is a great challenge for this country.

Change will always come. Mankind has no choice for nothing can stop the movement and changing of mankind. The real argument is over what kind of change will prevail and at what speed it will come. It does not matter what nation we are talking about, each generation has to muddle its way over the now dead or tired bodies of previous pioneers and reformers. Lin Yutang called war among politicians, Chiefly a war over the length of their respective funeral notices, to see which dead man shall have a longer smile from his coffin when he hears his honors being read. They come and they go and like others before them will all eventually die and be forgotten, remembered not much more than you or I in terms of history. Change, however, will go on, for better or worse. In China, it is clearly for the better of the country and its people.

False Impressions and Basic Truths

When I first arrived in China I was, like many Westerners, thinking I would come teach for a year and experience a bit of China. I also, like most again, discovered I knew nothing about the real China or the truth of China. My students, primarily masters’ degree students, and my travels have taught me so much and I have discovered China is nothing like what we had been and are told in the western world via print, television news or our government in the U.S. or most western countries In fact, what is reported is often shameful in its inaccuracies and, frankly, often outright lies.

BASIC PHILOSOPHICAL DIFFERENCES

My students told me I have grown a Chinese heart. There is great truth in their words in so many ways. Where we are born and raised is truly an accident of birth, meaning that none of us chooses the place, it is simply, for better or worse, thrust upon us by the circumstances of our parents and family. We are, for example, an American by our own accident of birth. As we grow, learn and establish our own beliefs, we may find ourselves quite different from others around us, though it takes us many years to find ourselves. I have found there are three key points, major philosophical differences, one must accept about China to fully understand the country and the people:

1- Philosophically, China does not believe in interfering in the affairs of another nation. Most Americans, fail to understand that very basic philosophical difference. The U.S., Britain and other western countries often sticks its nose in everywhere in the world and thinks it has a right or obligation to do that - the Chinese believe just the opposite. The Chinese are very peace loving which is why they do not interfere in other nations, spend a very small part of their national budget on military (much smaller than the U.S.), and use the military primarily for domestic needs and national emergencies. China has never invaded any other nation nor taken territory from any other nation - nor has one single soldier ever been permanently stationed in any other nation. They believe that each nation is its own entity and has the right to do as that nation chooses within its own borders. Outside of border skirmishes over the years, such as with Korea or Vietnam, philosophically, the Chinese choose to not interfere in the business of others. This is a very basic philosophical difference in the thinking of our nations. My mother used to say, Sweep in front of your own door. Maybe my ethnic German mother’s heart was also Chinese?

BookPhoto1.JPG

Making a new friend at Confucius’ burial mound in Qufu.

2- For over 2500 years, the teachings of Confucius have formed the philosophical foundation of the Chinese people. It is Confucianism that serves as the moral and ethical religion of the people and primarily why the Chinese people feel little need for any other religious thoughts. They are not judged by the standards of some far off mystical God or gods, but by their fellow man here in their daily lives. Confucius taught one’s first obligation is to the state, one’s second obligation is to one’s parents and ancestors, and one’s third obligation is to one’s spouse and children. In addition, every man and woman has an obligation, a family duty, to give birth and to continue the family line. To not become a parent is considered a great shame or great sadness for everyone. Most important to note: There is no obligation to one’s self. Your obligation as a person is to others and you are subjugated to that. Philosophically, this is far different than the western thought of individualism and lack of caring for what others may think. This, of course, makes for much stronger families, considered the historical foundation of a harmonious society in China. True, Confucianism may be slightly less prevalent today than it once was, but it still is the foundation of the Chinese spirit and has been for thousands of years.

3- The strength of the Chinese government and the belief of the over-whelming majority percentage of the Chinese people in socialism, again, ties in directly philosophically with the character of the Chinese people. Americans are often told by the western media and/or governments that the Chinese want democracy and are suppressed by the government. That is really not a correct analysis. Of course, there are a small percentage of people here who claim to want democracy – just like there are a small percentage of people in America who claim to be socialists or communists; but the percentages are not as large as Americans think or the western news media makes them out to be for several reasons:

a) The communist party took control of China in 1949 by having the over-whelming support, near 90%, of the Chinese people, 90% of whom lived in poverty under the then crooked Nationalist regime, the party of the rich, and, unfortunately, backed by the American government at the time. The communists were not a minority party among the people. They started small, of course, as all movements begin, but soon became a vast majority. I would suggest one read American writer Edgar Snow’s classic historical novel, Red Star over China, for background and to best understand Mao Zedong and the successful founding of socialism in China

b) Before the revolution, much of China was controlled by the rich landlords and their warlords who treated others as slaves and women as property and, in truth, women were treated not much different from the way the Taliban treat women today. In the China of today, however, women have near full freedom that they never had before 1949. That has firmed government support among women and, in fact, helped fuel China’s rise as a powerful nation. The skill and brainpower of women, half the population and holding up half the sky, has been released.

c) Philosophically, under historical Confucianism thinking, ones first obligation is to the state – not to the individual. It is the group, society as a whole that matters, and not you as an individual. It is thus the norm to support the state in their quest to build an equitable and harmonious society for the people as a whole and to be not or less concerned with self.

d) Finally, there is the sheer numbers of people in China that must be governed. Most Americans, I believe, would admit that the problems of our western society have increased dramatically over the last decades. We are also not near as democratic as when our population was smaller. We have become a nation of high crime, a gun crazy populous, and a nation of me first individuals. We claim rights as individuals under a constitution that may not be relevant in our modern world? Hong Yingming, a Chinese scholar during the Ming Dynasty, said The ways of the world are changing all the time. This is a statement and philosophy that Americans seem to have a problem understanding and adapting to. We are no longer living in 1776. The world of today is much different than the world of our fathers. Even Confucius has been proven wrong on one important point, human beings have proven not able to police themselves.

China has near four times the population of the U.S. Given that situation, can you not understand what would happen if such a huge population was turned loose and became a me first society? Chaos would be the likely result. Order and stability are needed in such a situation and the majority of the Chinese people seem to understand that. They are perfectly content to not own guns, for example, and see no reason why anyone would need to own one. It is also why a small minority complaining about something in China is mostly ignored, contrary to in the west. It is the good of the larger group (society) that matters and not the whining of a small minority. The minority has to adjust, not the great majority. On Chinese phones you do not touch one for English. In China, voices and signs are in Chinese. The famous Terracotta Warriors will never be renamed Terracotta People.

e) In China, it is not the name of the government, be it democracy, socialism, communism, dictatorship or other that matters. It is the wisdom of the leaders and the caring they show for their people as a nation. The Chinese people know that they are far better off and have more freedoms today than they had sixty, forty or twenty years ago. They know that is the result of government leadership. The Tiananmen Square incident was near thirty years ago and, at the speed China is moving, is ancient history here. When the U.S. talks about Tiananmen, they conveniently forget our own Kent State or Vietnam protest incidents. Can the U.S. say our people are better off than sixty, forty or twenty years ago? I will let you each decide that for yourselves.

In my studies and observations during my five years here in China, these are key philosophical differences deeply rooted in the minds of the people that a westerner must first understand if they hope to understand China as a people or nation. Hong Yingming also said, A minor shift of mind can immediately bring about a quite different world in front of our eyes. I challenge all who may read this to make that shift.

I have come to accept and understand these philosophical differences, finding that they make sense to me. So maybe my heart is Chinese? I don’t know? But as stated in my introduction to this work, I do strongly believe that no one should be writing or speaking publicly about China that has not spent at least a year here, and preferably two or more, getting to know the country and the people. Come with an open heart and an open mind and your words will tell an entirely different story. Come walk in the shoes of the Chinese people. I only speak the truth from what I know, have personally seen, or personally experienced during my time here in China. I give only my honest, unbiased, opinions from those frames of reference. I have also tried to clearly separate fact from opinion and hope I have done so well.

SOME BIG LIES

The ignorance of the masses can never be over-estimated. Any politician knows that and that is what we have among those western journalists writing about China. Any common sense, any knowledge of history, anyone who has traveled widely or lived in China knows, in my opinion, that the Chinese government is a relatively good government today and generally correct in the various actions they have taken. In my judgment, most of what you read about China, if not all, is pure western propaganda. Some examples of what I, and my students, consider lies routinely published about China:

1- There is no freedom of religion here. This is simply a big lie. Churches and temples throughout China have people coming and going and worshipping as they please. No one watches or cares. There are over 100 million worshippers of Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and Christianity in China today. However, most Chinese people view religion, and always have, in a different way than the west. To the Chinese people religion is philosophy and is discussed like a philosophy. They see life and death as natural processes and have little concept of any afterlife beyond that. Thus they do not fear death in any way. In summary, the majority simply aren’t that interested in religion as westerners see it.

True, you are not allowed to stand on street corners, proselytize your beliefs, or try to convert others in public. It is expressly forbidden for foreigners to set up religious organizations of any kind, to do missionary work or to recruit new followers. Personally, however, I can understand and agree with that as, it seems, do most of the Chinese people. It is their country and they have the right to have their rules. Other nations, whomever they may be, have no right to tell China what it should do. Western nations do not allow China to tell them what to do, yet we somehow often think we can do the reverse. The one group here, Falun Gong, that is apparently outlawed, is not because of its beliefs, but because it spends its time proselytizing and recruiting.

China bulldozes Christian churches! Please! It doesn’t happen in modern China. There is almost complete freedom of religion in China today as explained above. I have personally sat in many Christian churches here and no one bothers you or cares. Monks and temples, mosques and churches are everywhere and people come and go in a steady stream as they please.

2- Web sites are commonly blocked. This is mostly another big lie. I read all the American news and newspapers online, would go to any web site I wanted, even Free Tibet sites, and I was never unable to read what I wished to read. That was my experience. The web may be a bit slower here, that seemed true. The web is sometimes a fraction slower here because of a huge population and thus a very busy internet, plus if you try to get on a western site the signal must travel a long way by under the ocean cable. We are thus perhaps a fraction slower because of those reasons – not necessarily any blockage. Is anything blocked? Yes, evidently youtube, facebook and various pornography sites are often blocked. Personally, again, I do not find that a bad thing as in my experience I have found such social sites full of lies and degradation of others with little responsibility for what one says or does on them. I am not a technical computer expert. I cannot say these things for a 100% fact, but it is my experience. I read all this stuff in western papers and can only say I am able to get on most any website I wish other than the few mentioned above. I read all the western newspapers I wished to on the Internet: USA Today, NY Times, Washington Post, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and several AZ, TN and NV papers and more. The facts I saw and experienced in today’s China did not support this western censorship propaganda.

3- Tibet is and should be an independent nation. This is another big lie. Tibet has been a part of China and ruled by the Chinese for hundreds of years under many different emperors. It was NOT a free nation in 1959 when Mao sent troops as many now try to claim. Mao sent troops because the Dalai Lama thought he could get away with his theocracy separatist movement at that time, thinking because Mao was too busy elsewhere building a new nation. More recently, he thought he could get away with his terror tactics because China would hesitate to put them down because of the Olympic publicity. He was wrong then and he is wrong now. The Dalai Lama historically had been ruling over a theocracy of serfs and slaves with only the monks getting special privileges and he has been trying to maintain his theocracy kingdom against the will of the majority of the people, whose life is now better under civil law. In that regard, he is no different than the religious nuts of the Middle East the west is now fighting. China will never allow a challenge to the nation as a whole, nor should it. I equate it to the LDS Church Bishop challenging the U.S. government that Utah should be its own state under Mormon rule. Not going to happen. The U.S. government would quickly put it down. One might also acquaint it to our own Civil War in holding the nation together before one criticizes the Chinese. Hu Jintao sent troops to Tibet. Abe Lincoln would have done the same in my opinion.

Criminals and thugs are criminals and thugs. Putting on red robes does not change that. Most recent actions in Tibet were those of criminals and thugs, not peace spouting people of prayer. Tibet and the average Tibetan is better off today than they ever were. First, there was nothing romantic about living as serfs or being nomads. It was a very tough life. Second, serfs and nomads realized there was no future as serfs or nomads. That is simply today’s world, the modern world, the globalized world. They now have a stronger economy, more employment, free education, complete freedom of worship and are exempt from China’s one child rule – as are all members of minority groups in China. Ask any nomad in Tibet what he wants for his children and it not being a nomad. He wants the better life for them that the Chinese government is building.

4- Communism is an evil system. This is the biggest of all lies! It is just a system. In fact, China is not even communist but a socialist nation. Any system is also only as good as its leaders. China currently recently has had very good leaders, particularly Hu Jintao, in my observation. Bush was the biggest war criminal on the planet in my opinion. Does that make democracy an evil system? No, of course not. It just happened to have an evil leader at the time. As a young boy, I grew up crouching under my school desk and being taught to fear communism. I was originally apprehensive to come to China because of those stories. They have been proven to me to be all lies. There is nothing to fear in communism or China other than perhaps their pure economic power. People here go about their daily lives very much the same as westerners go about their daily lives, concerned about jobs, housing, and feeding and caring for their family.

5- HISTORICAL FACTS. China is a very peaceful nation and people. They teach and prefer music, poetry, art and philosophy over the arts of war. In fact, China is the only major nation in the world that in its entire history has never invaded another country. NEVER. How I wish my own nation could say the same. Plus China spends far less of its budget on the military than the west does and they have no troops stationed in foreign countries as the west does.

Someone once said, It takes wisdom to understand wisdom, otherwise you are only playing music to an audience that is deaf. I would urge all readers to keep an open-mind, to stop believing the stories we all heard as children, and to gain your own personal wisdom about the China of today. A lot has happened in the last few decades and I am confidant you will be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

Finally, I know a few of you may disagree with something I’ve said thus far and so be it. But I encourage all of you to take time to read, learn and visit China to see things for yourself. I believe you will be amazed at what you see and quickly learn to love China as I have come to do. That is the truth of the situation and my thoughts as I see it based on my personal experience and observations. Am I the world’s wisest man? Of course not. Is China a perfect country? Of course not. But I believe I am an open-minded man in my travels and an honest man in reporting what I see and experience. I urge you to be the same.

SOME STUDENT QUESTIONS AND THOUGHTS

Something interesting happened among my students one week that had not really happened before in all the time I had been here. They were rising en masse to the defense of their country and questioning what is wrong with America and the western world in general and why our media tells so many lies about China? They were disgusted with the protests surrounding the Olympic torch and the lies told about the Tibet situation and their country as a whole. I had been telling people I knew for some time that China was a very free society. It had evolved into a capitalist society and a socialist democratic society of laws much like the west. The fact that there is complete freedom of religion here is just one example. All the Chinese know this. They were very proud of China and what it has become. They cannot understand why America and the west continued to print as news mostly lies about Tibet and China as a whole. I responded to them that most people in America and the west have never been to China and have zero idea of what China is like today and are simply ignorant of the real China of today. Their response was to ask why our media then prints such lies? The media should know better. Why were they so prejudiced against China?

I had tried to explain to them about how when I was a young boy we were taught to be afraid of communism and actually taught to hide under our school desks in case of attack by the communists. Now, of course, I have discovered how stupid that was and how we were never really in any danger. They understood my explanation but could not understand why the lies continued today, so many years later? They asked about Taiwan, which is Chinese territory, and why the west does not mind its own business? I told them most westerners do not know Taiwan is only sixty miles from the mainland and is clearly Chinese territory. Again, they asked then why does your media lie about China? It is sad. These are wonderful people, very wonderful people. They have every right to question why the western world lies about them and their country. I saw heartbreak in their eyes for the lies and greater determination than ever to become the greatest country and society in the world, something I believe, as do they, that they are on the path to being. In fact, I believe the west has become so afraid of China’s rise that they lie mostly to try to stop the rise and that is a foolish decision. China cannot be stopped in becoming a great and powerful nation. Wouldn’t it be wiser to foster friendship with them instead of animosity? My students thought so and I agreed with them.

One evening following the 2008 election in the U.S., I read an AP report that the Chinese had censored part of President Obama’s inaugural address and taken out the word communism and the sentence referring to it. I again wondered why our news media lied about such things and understood why my students got frustrated about our western news media saying these things. I watched and read everything online, including China Daily, and in not one single case was the word communism or the sentence missing. I could only shake my head at why the U.S. media lies about such things. Were some words missing or changed upon translation into the Chinese language? I am sure that could be true, but simply because in a translation between any two languages words do not ever translate 100% perfectly. That is the nature of languages. As far as I could tell though, one could read the full text of President Obama’s address everywhere in China. I certainly met no one who couldn’t.

I read another article in the New York Times about the security apparatus in China, which was also full of lies and distortions. Now, I am a faithful reader of the Times and enjoy much of the paper. However, when it comes to China, the Times is consistently full of outright lies. In this particular article, it talked about the police and soldiers moving in to an area en masse to observe when there was even a hint of any kind of protest. Outsiders and foreigners are routinely watched and checked upon. That is all garbage reporting In my five years experience in China, traveling all over the country, including Tibet and Xinjiang, so-called trouble areas by the west, I had never seen any large police or soldier presence anywhere. I had never been questioned or asked for identification anywhere. In fact, I had never shown my identification in China other than at airports and hotels in the same way as anywhere in the world! More trash printed by the western media that my students could only shake their heads in disgust about.

My students also spoke quite freely in class about their thoughts on many things. Classes were not the stiff lecture situations that westerners seem to think they are. One week during some student presentations, David did a presentation about social media, particularly the internet, censorship in China and how you cannot get on youtube, facebook and twitter. Christopher, on the other hand, took a different view in his presentation and thought China was moving forward at a correct pace. It was interesting to hear the contrast in their thinking and the discussion that followed. Much of it included the difference in philosophies of the two countries, U.S. compared to China – namely individual rights versus the rights of the group / community being first. Most of the students felt China was moving at a correct pace but both students had some support from other members of the group. David admitted that censorship had a necessary place in keeping sex off the internet and unavailable to children.

David also admitted that he could get on most any site he wished, including those supposedly censored, because he was very good at computers. He said that anybody who was really good at computers could get around the censorship but they were only a small percentage of the people in his opinion. David also raised questions about the legal system in China and how it favored the government and people with government connections. I wondered how much different or worse it was than the U.S. system, which seems to favor those with the most expensive lawyers? Of course, no conclusions could be reached, but our classes did have some very open and interesting discussions.

Sylvia added to the interesting discussions when she chose to give a short presentation on Thanksgiving. Officially, there are no holidays celebrated in China but traditional Chinese holidays. However, I had read recently how holidays have become international in that the people of many countries simply adopted those that they liked. Starr confirmed that with her comments. The Chinese have adopted Christmas, Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day over time. They, of course, are not religious here, but are celebrated in a Chinese way – taking the parts they like and ignoring those that they wish. It’s all an interesting cultural adaptation.

Once when I was invited to speak to the class of another Chinese teacher, a large class of over seventy students, I had a surprise reaction. When you take questions from students you never know what they might ask. My policy though was to always answer as honestly as I could. A student in the back of the room asked me what I thought of President Bush and the war in Iraq? I told him that people had many different opinions but that I personally disliked Bush and what he had done to my country, I thought he was the worse president in the history of our county, and that the U.S. had no business being in Iraq or any war when neither they nor any country had attacked us. The entire room stood up and gave me a thunderous round of applause! That had never happened before. Students generally agreed with the answers I gave to questions about Bush and Iraq when I was asked, but they usually just shook their heads in agreement. This was a first and an amazing reaction that left me a bit stunned.

In my extensive travels though, I have found most of the peoples of the world like the American people, but they almost universally dislike the American government. Our government, businessman and officials are seen as arrogant and of seeing only one viewpoint – that of their own political and economic interests.

One also has to constantly remind themselves that philosophically the Chinese are very anti-war as a people and nation. This country has fought among themselves often during their long history but China has NEVER attacked another country. They very much mind their own business and believe the rest of us should do the same. Over the last 800 years it has been other western nations of Europe and later the U.S. that have been the aggressor nations, from the long ago religious crusades against Islam to colonization attempts throughout the world, from Africa to South America to India, China and Southeast Asia. Then we sit in wonder as to why our government is so universally disliked outside the west? On the opposite extreme, no South American, African, Southeast Asian, India or China has ever tried to colonize any nation outside its borders. The Chinese and the rest of the world know this. They cannot understand how the U.S. and the other western nations fail to realize what is the truth of their own history!

In the last century, three countries have been the leading imperialist aggressor nations, sticking their nose into other countries business and territory, the U.S.A., Russia and Britain. Russia has fallen apart since, Britain has become a minor nation in the big picture of things, and look what has happened in America over the last decade and how comparatively weak we have become compared to the past. A Chinese student asked me after class one day that, If the majority of the American people want out of Iraq why are you still there? Wouldn’t the vote of a democracy bring them home? We (China) are more democratic than your country. The will of 70% of the people would be listened to in China. I had to answer him that I did not understand it either.

SOME CHINA / USA HISTORICAL SIMILARITIES

Communism is just a word, a system of government, no more, no less. Socialism is just a word, a system of government, no more, no less. Democracy is just a word, a system of government, no more, no less. Good, or bad, government is practiced by the leaders of the time, whatever the system is called. That is why I judge China by what it is today, based on my educated opinion. I judge the USA by what it is today, based on my educated opinion. I do the same for all countries. Those who like to condemn China for its communist revolution, in truth a civil war in China, forget about the Revolutionary War that created the USA. They forget about the United States Civil War that held the nation together. The same things have occurred in China, just at more recent times on the calendar. China created and held their nation together and, one hopes, learned from these events. The USA created and held their nation together and, one hopes, learned from these events. There are great similarities if one studies with an open mind.

What about Tiananmen Square people ask me? That was terrible! They killed their own citizens. I do not disagree. That was terrible. However, we forget our government punished and killed our own citizens because their hair was too long and protested to end the Vietnam War or to end racial discrimination. Have you forgotten Kent State? Our U.S. soldiers shot and killed students who were protesting our government in a supposedly free society! That was terrible. No one can disagree with that. Again, there are great similarities between our governments and countries. One would believe that each respective country learned from those past events. I believe Tiananmen Square has helped mold the more open and free China that exists today and is the China which I see and respect. The students and civilians did not die there in vain.

The bigger question one could ask is whether the USA has learned anything from Vietnam, Kent State, Iraq, Afghanistan or various race riots? Again, our history is similar, but I would argue we have learned less, perhaps little or nothing. Are race relations much different now than fifty years ago? Do not blacks and whites still live in their own neighborhoods and attend their own schools? In my opinion, white people are more afraid to walk in black neighborhoods today than they were fifty years ago. And recently we were again bogged down in another bad war in another place we do not belong with no way or plan to get out – a war that has greatly separated our nation.

China has become and is a country of relative peace and personal security. Guns are not allowed here. Charlton Heston would not have been welcome here. The USA, on the other hand, has become a country of gun owners and violence. We are the murder capital among all so-called civilized industrial countries. I read where one night in Chicago there were twenty people shot in just twelve hours! There are probably not twenty people shot in China in a year! Only in the USA will some nut with a gun shoot you because your car may have cut him off in traffic. In summation, our countries have really quite similar histories but our recent evolution is quite different. China is evolving into an open, free, entrepreneurial society that is safe in which to live and offers health care for all its citizens and stands on solid economic ground. The USA is evolving into a big brother is watching you society that is filled with violence, race hatred, health care its citizens cannot afford, deteriorating schools, jobs that have disappeared and in debt far over our heads, a mortgaged future – most of it to China or the Arabs.

So I would challenge you to think about this: If you were a twenty year old person just dropped on this earth and free to choose where you want to live in building your individual future and then judged both China and the USA with no preconceived prejudices and a completely open mind, which country would you choose to live? If you are a citizen of the USA, the answer is not a good one. It’s frightening for the U.S.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

When the great earthquake occurred near Chengdu, the pictures of collapsed schools and hospitals filled your eyes with tears. I read comments, as did my students, in USA Today blogs from idiots in the U.S. making derogatory comments about the communists Chinese and the shoddy Chinese construction which left me in tears for my own country and the ignorance of these people. I had heard on the news from other nations that a 7.8 is so strong as to flatten most anything near its center, as it would do to San Francisco or LA. The people killed and injured are simply people, like you and I. They got up each day, went to their jobs and took care of their family as best they could. Just like you and I.

The Chinese government is wonderful in emergency situations, much better than the U.S. government has proved to be in our most recent national disasters. The government immediately mobilized the military and within hours thousands of them were in the area removing rubble and working to rescue victims as first priority. They were bringing in food, water, tents and blankets as fast as possible, though hampered by almost all roads to the area blocked by landsides. They were marching to the areas needed double and triple time in great numbers to perform rescue operations. In China, the military is always the quickly deployed first option in emergency situations. China’s Premier immediately flew to the area and was on the ground within hours calming the people and directing the rescue operations. Our U.S. President was frozen on his chair on 9/11 reading a book about goats and then rushed to hide out in his private plane for many hours. Some of you will again let your back stiffen at my words but the facts are the facts.

I give the Chinese government credit for rushing thousands of troops to the scene and doing everything possible to save people. Some troops marched and ran for up to eighteen hours to reach remote villages and try to save just one person if they could. One woman who was eight months pregnant was pulled out of the rubble after being buried for fifty hours. Another elementary school child was crying, Daddy, please save me, over and over from deep underneath the rubble as her own father, family members and the military dug as fast as they good only to not make it in time and have to carry out her ruined body. The Party leader of one ruined village was directing soldiers and rescuers to do what they could while tears ran down his own face as he had already lost his mother, wife and two children under the wreckage. This was no hard-line communist but simply a man, a fellow human being, in unbelievable pain; forging ahead to do what he could to help others under the most difficult of circumstances imaginable. And there were so many more just like him.

People of all ages came from all over China and, along with the soldiers, were digging like dogs with their bare paws as there were not enough shovels to go around and, in some places, they could only dig with hands under rocks. Rivers and lakes, blocked up by quake debris, were threatening to burst after more than twenty aftershocks between 5.2 and 6.0. Authorities were hustling many people out of the area before a wall of water decided to come down the canyons. Note that even the aftershocks were very numerous and huge here! According to the experts, the original quake was only six miles underground and split the earth about 24 feet for hundreds of miles along the fault line! Can you even imagine the power of a force that can split the earth 24 feet just six miles underground! That