China's Harmonious Society

In moving to China, I left a country that not only allows a separatist party to sit in Parliament - it lets it form "Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition".

Obviously, things are different here in China.

For the benefit of readers back home, I'll share some observations on life in China's "Harmonious Society" with its "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" (two phrases you hear repeatedly). I stress observations - not judgements. While I'm a guest in China, I wouldn't feel right making public value judgements. Besides, I don't want to end up with my blog on the other side of the Great Fire Wall of China!

Let's start with the Internet. When I go online, I have to provide a user name and password. Both were given to me when I arrived - I can't change them. First sign that Big Brother is watching. Some sites are blocked all the time, others are blocked some of the time. Wikipedia works sometimes - more often than not lately. I haven't been able to access CNN's political ticker since I got here. If you type certain phrases into Google, you'll get a very quick "This Page Cannot Be Displayed". China is notorious for the number of people it employs to censor Internet content, but some things still get through, perhaps because they assume most Chinese people can't read them. For instance, I love The Economist and was surprised to find I was able to read a damning article about Tibet on its website.

Speaking of Tibet, this from an editorial in China Daily, the country's English-language newspaper: "Thus, he [the Dalai Lama] is completely incapable, morally or physically, to confront with the irreversible current of the national unity. Being such a busy person flying around the world, the Dalai Lama should have contributed to disseminating the essence of Buddhism." The words might be English, but you'd never mistake this for an editorial from a western newspaper.

When I signed my contract with the University, one of the clauses stated that I would not interfere in China's internal affairs. I can't imagine someone coming to Canada and being asked not to meddle in Canada's internal affairs. (Well, maybe in the Kingdom of Danny - just kidding DW supporters!)

Last night I finished reading Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope. There were a few mentions of China - generally not positive. I wonder whether you can even buy the book here. Probably not. I wasn't here for Obama's Inauguration, but the American teachers tell me that parts of his speech were omitted in the Chinese translation - like when he talked about some countries being on the wrong side of history. Tomorrow in my culture class, I'll lecture on America's political and economic system. "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" it isn't, but thankfully I'm allowed to lecture freely on others countries' political and economic systems. I guess it's a little hard to hide the fact that in other countries, people vote.

Some people have told me it's easier to find English books that are critical of the Communist regime than it is to find Chinese books. In a Shanghai bookstore, I was very surprised to find a book that tells the story of a woman repressed by the Communist party. As more people here learn English, will those books gradually diminish?

And so concludes my observations.