Camping on the Great Wall

I went camping on the Great Wall last weekend. Despite waking up in the rain, it was a really fun experience!

长城 (Chang2 Cheng2 = the Great Wall, actually means the "Long Wall" in Chinese)











For those interested in doing a similar trip, I would recommend booking with Leo Hostel - very reasonably priced and efficient. Leo Hostel is located near Tiananmen and runs various tours to the Great Wall and other historic sites around Beijing.

www.leohostel.com

刘晓波

Last week, I was coming back from Chaoyang district when a friend asked our cab driver if he knew who Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波) is. The driver told us he had never heard of the guy. While not exactly shocked, I was still intrigued by how this man had not heard of this story, which has been featured on the front of every news source I’ve seen over the past few weeks. Even before the Noble Peace Prize was awarded to Liu, he was known around the world as a political activist/dissident, sentenced to 11 years in jail last December for attempting to subvert the CCP with his Charter 08 proposal, which promoted political reform and democratization in China. Since the Peace Prize is usually an indication of one’s contribution to national harmony, this move in effect denounces China’s judicial system and has enraged the CCP, who formally demanded an apology to the nation.

Since then, I have casually been asking my cab drivers and other local Beijingers who work in/around my apartment building if they are aware of Liu Xiaobo's story. So far, only 1 out of 20 had heard Liu’s name, (that stat excludes my teachers at IUP). While I realize this number is not statistically reliable, I still feel the need to share my findings with you, as every single one of those 19 other “no’s” were fairly immediate and absolute, without any sort of clue to why I would be asking such a question. One cab driver pointed to my friend, who was sitting next to me in the cab, (keep in mind he is a white male from the US), and asked, “Is he Liu Xiaobo?" Another simply switched the radio back on after shaking his head no, without any interest in the reason for my asking the question. A few others asked me who he was, but even after I explained the Noble Peace Prize, they remained clueless. One lady who works in my apartment building had heard of the Noble Prizes, but not of Liu Xiaobo. A final cab driver muttered that the newspapers he reads hadn’t featured anything on him, as if to imply that it wasn’t an important enough of a story to make headlines.

My classmates and I brought the subject up in class last week, and my teacher, who happens to be a Party member, confirmed that she had heard of the story. She reminded us that she is part of the Party, and although that does not mean she advocates on behalf of them or in any way pushes their beliefs upon others, she still feels uncomfortable discussing this topic. (A lot of my teachers joined the Party for educational and employment purposes/关系, and have actually emphasized their political separation from the Party several times.) What this teacher did share, however, was that she believes this will not hurt China’s relations with Norway, or any other country for that matter; China simply has to save face, but will be able to move on from this debate in the near future.

Yet what I have read in the media is quite the contrary, with the CCP accusing the Nobel committee of provoking a “serious ideological clash” between Beijing and the West. Furthermore, more recent news articles confirm several of Liu’s close friends and fellow activists have been missing for weeks and believed to be taken into police custody. I have also heard that numerous overseas anti-government Chinese language websites have been hacked since Liu won the Noble Prize two weeks ago, and police have severely restricted people from celebrating.

A second teacher, while in 单班课 (dan ban ke, one-on-one class which I have for an hour each day), was a little more open about discussing this subject with me today. At first, he ranted about how disrespectful and ungrounded this award to Liu was. Then he stated that the Noble Peace Prize has become less and less credible over the years, reminding me of Obama’s award in 2008. He argued that the Peace Prize should have nothing to do with politics, and furthermore that these two men had not done anything noteworthy of receiving the prize. Valid argument – while the Science awards are pretty straightforward, with the winners having made tangible contributions to their fields, the Peace Prize seems to have taken on more of a political agenda in recent years. Coming from the viewpoint of my teacher and other Chinese people, I can see how the Noble Prize may seem like a tool of Western powers to push their agenda upon the East. After all, looking back at past recipients of the prize reveals a good number of prizes awarded to US politicians, and some to the enemies or dissidents of US enemies, but not to any, say, Latin American dissident of dictators in Latin America. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_Peace_Prize_laureates - yes, I know I just cited Wikipedia…) The exact motives of the Norwegians in this instance lead to a much more convoluted discussion involving the trade off between a civil society and one-party authority, and between economic development and protecting human rights. Nevertheless, what it comes down to is that I do believe peace and politics have an inherent connection that must be scrutinized, and applauded when activists such as the Dalai Lama and Liu Xiaobo made headway in a country such as China. (While I know this argument takes democratization as the end all and be all for the future of political reform in China, and I know this argument has flaws in it, the truth of the matter is, freedom of speech and several other democratic values are in need here.)

After I questioned my danbanke teacher on his beliefs on democratization in China, explained Charter 08 and Liu’s efforts as an intellectual and activist, my teacher quickly ended the discussion by saying something along the lines of, “I really shouldn’t say anything about this, my knowledge on this topic is quite limited.” Obviously, awareness of this story is related to one’s education level, but I am still surprised by just how few Chinese people have heard of Liu. And even those who have access to Western news sources, which are more likely to discuss the situation in detail, have not done their research. What’s more is that one of the main differences I’ve noted between the US and China is the extent to which commoners are aware of international news and foreign affairs. For the most part, and especially as far as cab drivers go, I am usually quite surprised by how much Beijingers know about the US. I’ve talked to them about various areas of our government, history, economy, and education system. They have told me their opinions on past, present, and future political situations. Their knowledge of international news, especially disseminated from the US, is far beyond what most Americans know about China. It’s very interesting that Liu Xiaobo’s name, however, is not included in their knowledge.

Ok, well I apologize for the long ramble on this matter, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about for awhile. I would love to hear your thoughts and responses!

Xiar Bing and Dou Dou

My friend, Nick, lives with a host family here in Beijing. I have been able to spend time with his 中国爸爸，妈妈，and 妹妹 (zhongguo baba, mama, and meimei = Chinese father, mother, and little sister) over the past two months, including dinner at their house prepared by the mother, Zhang Xian, hiking for a day in one of Beijing's suburbs, and taking over their kitchen for a night to cook dinner with some friends for Nick's birthday. Last weekend, the father, Feng Yao, taught us how to make a type of 饼 (Xiar Bing, a pan fried pork bun resembling a dumpling). Photos are below:


A bing is prepared by rolling out thin rounds of flour and water dough, then placing the filling in the center of the pancake and sealing the dough. Finally, it is seared on both sides in a pan. Our bings were made with a pork and scallion mixture and soooo delicious. So delicious that I forgot to take a final picture before digging in.


Simin, Nick, and Feng Yao hard at work.

I also got to meet Hu Taitai's son, Dou Dou, last Saturday. He's five years old and full of energy, just like his mom.


Finally, I was planning on writing an entry on one of my favorite indulgences here in Beijing, but my friend, Simin, beat me to it. She put it better than I ever could, so check out her blog for our experiences with blind massages here in Beijing: http://siminbeijing2010.tumblr.com/post/1343305983/chinese-massage

Picture Update

Hu Taitai works in the little store on the first floor of my building. She is kind of like my "Chinese Mother", always willing to help me with whatever problem. Once she ordered take out for me because she was afraid the restaurant would recognize my foreign accent and raise the price. Another time she told me I wasn't wearing enough clothing and made me go get a jacket from my apartment before leaving. She's currently in the process of convincing me of buying a humidifier before winter comes, and has even cut out a few coupons from her magazines to advise me on my purchase.


Some friends and I went to find a tailer near Ritan Park last weekend and ended up wandering around the park for awhile afterwards. The above picture is a mural of ritual sacrifice to the Sun found in the middle of the park. The following two pictures below are of some elderly men using the exercise machines and another man practicing some form of martial arts in the bushes. It is customary for the elderly to gather in public parks every morning to practice Taichi and other forms of exercise, but even at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon, (with not great weather), Ritan Park was crowded with people engaging in a variety of activities from jumping rope, playing cards and ping pong, napping on the benches, and leading their grandchildren around the playgrounds. The park seemed much more active than any park in the US I have ever visited. The pictures are a bit hazy because the pollution was OUT OF CONTROL this past weekend. I have never even imagined it could get that bad... I'll spare you the pictures but it was truly scary.







And finally, another picture from my apartment window. I was up early one morning last week and caught the sunrise... A really peaceful moment in an otherwise extremely loud, dirty, and overwhelming area...

China's Media Going Global

[If you read my last post, here is a follow-up article from the NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/weekinreview/12rosenthal.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&sq=testing%20the%20chinese%20way&st=cse&scp=1]

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Lots of cool things happened this week.

I'll start with a Yale Club in Beijing event that my friend, Dominic, and I attended last Sunday. Half in search of good Dim Sum, and half interested in the topic of “China’s Media Going Global”, we set out for the Swissotel hotel in Chaoyang, where the Yale Club was hosting a brunch and lecture featuring one of CCTV’s regular anchors, Tian Wei. (China Central Television is China’s main news station. It has several channels, all of which are closely associated with the CCP).

Tian Wei is the moderator for CCTV’s daily talk show, “Dialogue”, and the weekly global debate program, “World Insight”. After some preliminary research, I learned she is best known for her direct and probing interview style, and her insights to important domestic and international events. Her frankness and knowledge were clearly evident as she spoke to us about the Chinese media.

Because of a holiday in the middle of last week, most people were working the weekend to make up for the missed days. As a result, only 15-20 people showed up for the brunch, and Dom and I were definitely the youngest in the crowd. It turned out to be quite a diverse group, with Chinese locals, foreigners, men, women, students, working professionals, Yale alums, Harvard alums, and even others working in the media market but with no affiliation to the university. All in all, we walked away with a lot to think about.

Tian gave us a brief introduction to herself and her career before launching into a lengthier discussion on China’s media market, its recent globalization, and implications for its future. She was surprisingly candid about everything, constantly reminding us that she is “not a spokesperson for CCTV”. She touched on everything from the Xinjiang riots in ‘09 to the growth of civil society and its impact on journalism. She even addressed the tougher areas of censorship, journalist ethics, and the top-down hierarchy within CCTV and the CCP. A word that came up quite a bit was the ever so important GuanXi, (关系), meaning “relations”, and referring to the personal connections that influence Chinese government, media, and society.

What I found most interesting in what she said was that she does not believe China itself knows where it is going, or even where it wants to go. (Another related NYT article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/weekinreview/26sanger.html?_r=1&hp) Everybody is trying to predict the future of this great nation, yet whether or not the CCP is willing to commit to a credible and competitive media market is still up in the air. I was also surprised when she affirmed that she believes she has more freedom of speech because her programs are in English, as the producers/authorities are less likely to track every little thing she says.

I majored in East Asian Studies while at Yale, and took most of my classes within the major on Chinese politics and history. I ended up focusing most of my academic interest on the Chinese media, which culminated with several seminar papers analyzing the relationship, or I should say power struggle, between the CCP and both traditional and new forms of mass media, and my senior research project, in which I looked at traditional Chinese values as displayed in magazine advertisements over the Reform Era. I was hoping to hear Tian’s thoughts on these specific areas, and was surprised by how closely the day’s discussion resembled my previous classes.

It was almost as if I was back at Yale, sitting around a table discussing this material, but this time, instead of being surrounded by my classmates and professor, I was having the discussion with one of the most renowned CCTV journalists herself, in addition to Chinese professionals, those involved with the Chinese media, and Beijing students and professors. This week the Light Fellowship asked us why we spend so much time overseas, and why we feel the need to study abroad multiple times. Aside from the obvious answer, this event is an example of why I decided to come back to Beijing, and this time for a year. I feel like I just spent four years at Yale preparing for this, and now I get to come here and implement it. Now I get to actually have these discussions with people directly involved with the issues, whether it be the future of the Chinese media, the tendencies of the Falun Gong, or the status of Taiwan. Especially in comparison to last summer, I feel like I now have the time, language ability, and am slowly acquiring the cultural comprehension necessary to be able to live out what I learned about back at Yale. Also, I often got caught up in my studies and life at Yale, and being here, attending events such as this, is exactly what I need to remind myself of why I chose to major in what I did. It confirms my interest in the language and pursing a career related to US-China relations in some way.

In other news, I took my first midterm on Thursday, found a really interesting Japanese bar right in Wudaokou, left the city for the first time since arriving to go hiking, and bought a bicycle, (finally!)