Follow up articles

Here are some follow up articles that I will post as I find them:

This one is regarding freedom of the press and I especially think it is interesting how many people in China are hired to simply monitor blogs...I wonder how often or if mine was monitored.

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200808/s2342221.htm?tab=latest

This one is about the protest parks and how two women were interrogated after submitting the first application to protest.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/21/china.humanrights

Leaving China

I saw my friend from UNC in the subway - it turns out we had been at the same handball game! What a coincidence!

I spent a long time walking around the Olympic Green and watching the torch. The flame is pretty loud - you can hear it roaring when you are standing in the Olympic Green. I had such a great time watching all of the Olympics sports. It was so fun to support other countries and to see all of their team spirit. I took a couple of Chinese roommates to handball games with me and they loved them as well. I don't have time to talk about who I saw play and the outcomes, but rest assured that I had a ton of fun.

The hostel we are staying in is also amazing. It is in a traditional hutong and the neighborhood makes me feel like I am living in "real" China (see picture). Our neighbors are Chinese people that live in hutongs as well. We are not restricted by curfews or gates and doormen. I like it.

I am leaving tonight and I can't wait to go home, but I definitely plan on coming back. Looking back on my first post, I think I accomplished what I set out to do.

1) I read my book To Live on the plane ride here and plan on reading it on the way back to see what perspective I have gained.
2) I did contact a few businesses, but none responded (I am guessing with the Olympics, there was too much going on). At least I did get to see how an NGO was involved in the development of an impoverished school as well as just seeing how businesses were affected in preparation for the Olympics.
Something I would like to focus on next time I go is more about how the government regulates and restricts innovation, entrepreneurship, and small v. large businesses as well as international v. national. I definitely have more of a feel I think, but it's something I could expand on.
3) I met a LOT of people, both Chinese and foreign, and learned about what they have done in China and what their opinions are about different issues.
4) I definitely learned about all of the following issues which I addressed in my first post:
A couple of issues/topics I want to pay attention to: the Olympics and its perception from many different lenses, environmental issues, human rights issues, the effect of China's changing demography on its future (especially the effect of the one-child policy and economic factors),
5) And NOW, I am inspired and can't wait to come back.

Bye China!

Vocab phrase of the day: 中国加油，奥运加油！（Zhongguo jiayou, Aoyun jiayou!) Go China, Go Olympics - the official Olympics cheer

Weightlifting, Boxing, and Handball

Another article I wrote:

On August 8^th at 8 pm, every restaurant and shop in Beijing had customers and employees alike crowded around a TV set watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. That night, 26 venues and parks around Beijing had big screens for the general public to watch the Opening Ceremonies and 5 venues had its own additional fireworks. Some parks were at capacity by 5 pm and shut their doors to newcomers.

The Opening Ceremonies smartly stayed away from drawing attention to Mao Zedong, the Cultural Revolution, and current controversial events. Rather, they celebrated the other two centuries of Chinese history and culture, with performances containing tai chi, calligraphy, puppets, kites, and references to ancient Chinese stories. The show was extremely creative and well-done with an impressive torch-lighting at the end and very precise execution throughout. After the finale, the rumbling of the fireworks could be heard from all over Beijing.

Walking around the Olympic Green and Olympic Village yields a greater appreciation of what goes into the Olympics. The Water Cube and Bird’s Nest are certainly two of the most impressive stadiums. In the Olympic Village, athletes hang their country’s flags down from balconies and the media waits by the gates for the appearance of an athlete. On one corner, people gather around to exchange pins, one person exchanging fifty pins to get a more valuable one.

Corporate sponsor displays as well as Olympics history displays are set up, with the opportunity to get a picture with a torch from a previous Olympics. The Today Show sets up every night at 7 pm so that it airs at 7 am EST in the U.S. Along a road in the Olympic Village, people set up displays of calligraphy and other handicrafts celebrating the Olympics. One elderly man stands with his cart in which he spent seven years, since Beijing was awarded the Olympics, riding around China to promote a Green Olympics.

While many of the Beijing residents prefer to watch the Olympics on television in the comfort of their own homes, people from all over the world attend the games, from more popular sports, such as swimming and gymnastics, to the lesser known sports, such as handball and weightlifting. At the less popular sports, groups of Chinese students, seniors, and clubs are invited to fill up some of these seats and act as a cheering section to get the audience riled up.

Celebrities, athletes and political figures from around the world have also appeared at numerous events to show their support. At one handball match between Germany and South Korea, members of Germany’s Olympic basketball team, including NBA player Dirk Nowitzki, came to support their fellow athletes. In an odd cultural twist, Chinese cheerleaders come out with people dressed as the Olympic mascots, Fuwa, during intermission to engage the crowd and dance to the likes of “Hey Mickey,” made famous from cheerleading movie Bring it On, to “All for One,” from Disney’s High School Musical 2.

At events such as handball, judo, boxing and weightlifting, there are many empty seats. While the Olympics office was sold out of tickets, independent companies have been trying to sell tickets for much more than face value. The demand for Olympics tickets is still high, with foreigners and locals alike searching for reasonably priced tickets. However, since scalping tickets is not allowed, companies must sit in their hotel rooms or offices in Beijing and wait for people to come to them, resulting in an inability to fix the imbalance between empty seats and the huge demand to fill them.

Even with an excess of empty seats, it is amazing to sit with people from all over the world and cheer on the Olympics. From the nervous excitement of the coaches and athletes to enthusiastic fans, this is where the spirit of athletics comes alive. It is exciting to see pockets of people around the stadium erupt in chants as their athlete comes out to face off. Some fans even cheered for their country in Chinese! At one boxing match, enthusiastic Chinese inspired by US fans cheering in Chinese, joined in cheering “USA”, as the US fans completed in Chinese “GO!”. As the Olympic flame continues to roar in the Bird’s Nest, fans celebrate the hard work and accomplishments of every country’s athletes and cheer on a successful Olympics.

Judo

Vocab word of the day: 柔道 (rou dao) Judo

Today I went to go see Olympics Judo (men and womens) at the Beijing Science and Technology University (see picture). Today's sky was not as cloudy/polluted as yesterday's (with even some blue sky here and there!), but it was so humid I finally gave in after 2 months and bought a 2 kuai fan. Everything seemed to run smoothly, at least from what I saw. They did only let us go through the detector one at a time, so a small line was forming, but it wasn't too painful. I got there almost 45 minutes ahead of time, so I don't know how smoothly it ran as it got closer to game time. There were tons of volunteers around to help out and I even saw one of the Chinese roommates that live at my campus volunteering there. He was really excited to see me and even gave me some bottled water.

Inside was air-conditioned, which was excellent. I am pretty sure I bought the last Judo ticket alloted to America through Co-sport because when I bought the ticket, they only let me buy 1 (they usually let you buy more) and I was also in the last row. Even after seeing all the delegations walk in yesterday at the Opening Ceremonies, it wasn't until I saw the Kazakhstan judoka come out that I was reminded that this is the OLYMPICS! There are athletes and fans here from literally all over the world -- when that hit me I got goosebumps. Just sitting around me were Austrian, French, Hungarian, Mongolian, Japanese, and of course, Chinese people. It was so fun to see little pockets of people around the stadium erupt in chants as their athlete came out to face off.

I had never seen Judo before, but the more I watched, the more I understood and came to enjoy watching it. I still got a little bored after watching round after round and not fully understanding what each move means, so I talked to the Chinese people around me. It is definitely a strange feeling to feel more comfortable talking to Chinese people now. Even with something as simple as asking the time, I know a Chinese person will understand me, but I can never be sure if the other visitors around me speak English. It also gives me another chance to practice my Chinese and strike up a conversation.

My article that I wrote for the UA News: it connects Chinese culture and the Olympics
http://www.snponline.com/articles/2008/08/09/upper_arlington_news/news/ua%20beijing
_20080808_1158am_1.txt

Opening Ceremonies!

Vocab word of the day: 鸟巢 (Niao chao) Bird's Nest

Tonight there were 26 venues around Beijing which had big screens for the general public to watch the Opening Ceremonies. 5 venues had its own additional fireworks. We tried to go to Ditan Park to watch, but as we were standing in line to buy a 2 kuai ticket at approximately 7:55, they closed the door and said it was too busy. While this situation was slightly frustrating as we heard the Opening Ceremonies begin to play on the big screen, we hailed a taxi and raced back to our school to watch it.

My first impressions: Extremely creative, well-done, and impressive. I think China would be proud to hear a foreigner say this because this is exactly what their goal was. It also looked really hot in the Bird's Nest as every shot of the audience showed people fanning themselves. The Opening Ceremonies smartly, in my opinion, stayed away from drawing attention to Mao Zedong, Cultural Revolution, and current controversial events. Rather, they focused on the other two centuries of Chinese history and culture, with performances containing things such as tai chi, calligraphy, puppets, kites and references to ancient Chinese stories. Everything appeared to run very smoothly and I definitely thought the lighting of the torch at the end was pretty amazing. Among the other prestigious athletes to be picked to finish the torch relay in the Bird's Nest, I thought it was cool that the first Chinese gold medalist, Xu Haifeng, was included as well as the gymnastics superstar, Li Ning. Since we were watching the Chinese broadcast, it was fun to see how much we could understand. After the ceremony ended, we could still hear (but not see) the fireworks from our campus.

To read more about Li Ning: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-08/09/content_9061594.htm
To read more about Xu Haifeng:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/sports/5931877.html

Protest Parks

If you want to protest during the Olympics (for whatever reason) you need to first apply through the Chinese government. They have set aside 3 parks around the city for you to protest in, one of which is very close to my school.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/sports/olympics/24china.html?em&ex=
1217044800&en=73a0c374a6c165c2&ei=5087%0A

Regarding tomorrow's Opening Ceremony and how they organized the order in which delegations will enter the birds nest.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-sticky7-2008
aug07,0,6617055.story

CHINGLISH ALERT:
At Jialefu, the grocery store. There are two escalators side by side (but escalators and elevators are the same thing in Chinese).

Please stabd on the right side. Left elevator emergency only.

I found this to be slightly contradictory, because I think if I got stabbed while standing on the right side, I'd probably consider that an emergency, in which case I would want to stand on the left side.

Olympic Torch Relay

Yesterday, we took a bus to go see the Olympic torch relay. I remember seeing the torch relay in 1996 when the Olympics was in Atlanta and the relay came through my hometown. Even though we waited almost 1.5 hours to see someone quickly run by with a flame, I still like the symbolism of unity that comes with the flame. Each runner doesn't have to run very far, which is to allow more people to participate. Yesterday, Yao Ming and the first Chinese astronaut were two of a slew of famous Chinese that were torch carriers. The street was possibly the most crowded place I have been in China (see picture), comparable to a crowded subway car. I had previously heard that we would not be able to see it because the government picked people to be on the sidelines. While this was true (I suspect many were probably Olympics volunteers), there was a place behind them for the rest of us to watch. As the torch went by (see picture for exchanging of the flame), I couldn't help but join in the enthusiastic roar of the crowd. Their excitement was contagious!

A torch relay flag summed it up best:
红遍全国加油中国！
My translation: The whole country is passionately cheering on China!

奥运会！ (Olympics!)

On Sunday we went to a Spanish mass at Wangfujing, a popular shopping area for tourists and locals. The mass was started last week especially for spanish-speaking Olympics guests. It was fun! Afterwards we went to a small night-market at Wangfujing where they have many bargaining shops and strange foods, such as scorpion! Yum.

There are lots of news articles going around, but the bottom line is Friday at 8:08 PM, the Games will start! Everyone is arriving now.

I especially like these AP videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPBMsuI1Ygw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqkdTzUt_Jo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coJ3V8LwtFQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgmkEK2_8ok
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8OV-dAV60I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biwZyGnu1RU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktTPg2ZU6hg

And these articles:

http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Olympics/
idUSSP10245120080805?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/beijing-olympic/knowledge.htm

The land of the "free"?

I haven't completely developed my thoughts on this, but I think its definitely an issue worth thinking about.

I think that it is ironic that while the U.S. is considered "free," Chinese people have different kinds of freedoms that we in the U.S. do not really have. In many ways, because some freedoms in America restrict other freedoms, there are certain aspects in which Chinese people are more free. I think this is partly because American freedoms are mostly based on personal and individual freedoms, but community freedoms are considered less important and thus ignored and more restricted in the name of individual freedom. In any place, with one freedom comes the restriction of another. There are so many regulations that aim to protect businesses and people, but restrict the community as a whole. Whether you agree with these freedoms or not, a couple of examples I can think of off the top of my head is: little kids peeing in the grass because they can't wait to find a bathroom, bringing your own bottle of wine into a restaurant, walking into a room of acupuncture patients in the hospital. While this certainly signals a difference in culture and possibly partly the difference between a developed and still developing country, I think both Chinese and American people don't really realize what freedoms they lack since they don't have them and people that did have them aren't around anymore.

While China has its fair share of regulations, they are mostly based on government security and political issues, while the U.S. regulations are mostly affected by the freedoms we have in law. However, as far as I have noticed, there are many more annoying small rules and regulations in the U.S. One example I thought of which illustrates while at the airport in both Hungary and China this summer. When I was little, kids were still allowed to play on the luggage delivery belt. Now, in the U.S., we aren't. This rule was probably created because one child pinched their fingers and while I'm sure some people in the company made this regulation out of genuine concern for kids, it was definitely also made so they don't get sued or get in trouble. With the freedom to sue and demand retribution (even though in this case, parents should be taking responsibility) comes the restriction of other small freedoms that can sometimes enrich a person's life - this next example illustrates this.

In China, there are parks with pingpong tables bolted down and work out machinery intended for elderly people use. Starting at about 5:00 am, this park is full of elderly people working out, playing pingpong and badminton, socializing, etc. This park has probably helped many of them prolong their lifespans by establishing a daily routine of being active. Why don't we have this in the U.S.? Besides the obvious fact that most parks (save for the occasional simple pullup benches) are 1) geared towards children and 2) someone would probably steal or vandalize the equipment, 3) some child or person would somehow injure themselves and instead of taking responsibility, sue the parks and recreation. I would like to address these below.

1) Chinese culture puts emphasis on obeying elders and by providing the elderly with a place to socialize and stay healthy, the less the rest of the community needs to take care of their elderly. 2) China does not have the same gang culture that the U.S. has and it is definitely evident by the lack of vandalism and graffiti. I really haven't seen much at all. I think another reason is that guns are forbidden in China (except for certain police and army). In the U.S., with the freedom of arms comes the restriction of innocent people's right to life. It is exactly this reason that I feel much safer on the streets in Beijing. Finally, I think that family values come into play. If someone thinks about vandalizing the pingpong table or exercise equipment, they think twice because they know their grandma probably uses it every morning. In the same respect, they probably play pingpong or hang out at the park too.
3) The emphasis on community from Chinese culture and Communist influence is also obvious. The mindset is that we as a community need to cooperate. Don't lose face by getting in a dispute. With our freedom to sue people and engage the law, we lose a little bit more of that carefree life. While I definitely agree with our freedom to correct wrongs, some people just like whining in order to get ahead in life. I don't know if I would call it dishonesty, but there are ridiculous trials in which people are just simply suing for the money and not really to correct a wrongdoing, and in many cases, not taking responsibility for a very simple problem that could have been resolved easily (i.e. because I burned my finger on my hot coffee, it's McDonald's fault). Ridiculous.

My vision of elderly equipment in the U.S: A child plays on the equipment, not using it properly because his parents never taught him how to properly use it and are now not paying attention because they are talking on their cell phones. The child somehow gets his finger stuck and starts screaming. His parents rush over and take their child to the doctor, finding that his finger is broken. His parents then sue the parks and recs for not having child proof hinges or something on it and the result? The equipment is removed. How many times have I seen something like this happen from when I was a kid compared to now? Countless times. Likewise, my parents childhood was definitely less restricted by the law then when I was a kid than kids now because Americans have become obsessed with safety, entitlement, and the need to regulate everything.

The saying "with great power comes great responsibility" applies to every person too. In the U.S., the individual has an increasingly great amount of individual power in the form of individual rights, but I don't think we are taking an increasing amount of responsibility. Instead we sometimes take every opportunity to abuse these rights, limiting our freedoms, encroaching on others' rights, and limiting opportunities as both an individual and a community. In China it is opposite; individual rights are more restricted, but the unrestricted carefree nature of the people as a whole are what, for example, allow us to learn from each other, make the parks more lively, and enrich the welfare of the community.

The Great (Wall) Sleep

I think this article has a very interesting spin on it. Definitely think it is short-sighted and only focuses on 'suspicions.' However, it still highlights some things the government is doing to crack down on any potential wrong-doers.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article4449148.ece

I love watching the Associated Press news clips, especially their thoughts on the environment in Beijing and preparing for the Olympics. Easily found on google by searching the olympics. Here is the link when I last searched Olympics on the AP website.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/external/search.hosted.ap.org/
wireCoreTool/Search?SITE=ORMED&query=olympics

Last weekend we went to the Great Wall with the intention of spending the night (see first picture, note pretty sky!). When we entered the Great Wall gate, however, it was pretty clear to the ticket takers what our intentions were. By the time we took the chairlift to the top, the security guards on the wall already knew we were coming and watched us walk around. It didn't help that there were maybe 3 other tourists there. We talked to the security guards (also known as Shifus) and begged them to let us sleep on the wall, but they said since July 26th, they aren't allowed to let anyone stay overnight on the wall. The last people from my school that stayed overnight was on July 25th. Darn. Since the Shifu understood that we really wanted to see the sunrise on the Great Wall, he told us we could stay at his place! So we climbed down the wall, along the way meeting every Great Wall official that stays by the wall, and then went to the Shifus restaurant/house where we ate and played cards. We then went into our rooms and slept 8 to a hard bed, staying up late telling ghost stories. At 3:30 am, we woke up and climbed back up the Great Wall to see the sunrise (see second picture). It definitely didn't compare to Taishan, but it was still an amazing feeling to have the Great Wall all to ourselves as the sun rose in a beautiful sky and gave us a clear view of the wall in both directions (see 3rd picture).

tower to get onto the unrestored section. The unrestored section was especially fun because we had toWe then walked all the way to the east end of the restored section of Mutianyu and climbed through a window opening in the last fight our way through trees and bushes to get to small clearings where we could appreciated the wall in its natural run-down state (see last picture). It is in the unrestored section where I could best imagine an army attacking from one direction and what it would be like to live in such a remote area. The fact that this part is so mountainous explains why it was only attacked once, but the idea of building the wall or living on the wall in such a remote area is still beyond me.